Once Again, Live
by Indh13
Summary: Do you believe in reincarnation? Well, it's something like that. Gray died, years later a boy appeared and he resembled Gray Fullbuster so much. What on earth is happening? And how Fairy Tail would react about this? Sorry for the bad summary anyway.
1. Chapter 1 Crying Sky, Crying Fairies

Ara, ara, well hello there. I'm _Indh13,_ the she-called Author but too lazy to write one, ( =P ). It's one of my unfinished Fairy Tail ficts and maybe the very first one I've published to ( ^,^ ). I have many idea popped in my head for Fairy Tail but too bad, I just got some little pieces of it that made me got sooo many writers block! I had no idea how to start it or how to end it since I just got an idea about a scene that was supposed to be put in the middle of the story, or the contrary. That's what happened on me so I can't posted any story of Fairy Tail although I love Fairy Tail so much especially Gray Fullbuster! Huwaaaaa! And then I also got problem with language. Agh! Not to mention my discontinue fict about another anime ( DX ).

But, I do love fanfictions. It's so fun to read new story everyday. I envy to other fanfiction authors who can make many amazing stories (*well, although there are some of them that are kinda… not good) And fanfiction help me re-memorized old anime that had once I loved so much. On the other word, fanfiction re-build my love to my old anime ( =,) )

Gah, enough the chit chat. Let me pour all of my heart content about fanfiction, anime and writer stuff next time, 'kay? ( ^^ )v

Now, this is my Fairy Tail fict. I love to write angst story! Please enjoy…

***Fairy**Tail***

**ONCE AGAIN, LIFE**

Rate : T

Genre : Angst., Family, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort

Mayor Chara : Gray Fullbuster

Pairing : Nothing this far

Warning : OOC, Discontinue, many miss-spelling and grammar. However, Please read!

**DISCLAIMER,**

I do not own Fairy Tail characters. It belongs to Hiro Mashima. If I owned it, I would make Gray Fullbuster as the main character. I love that hottie so much ^^v

Chapter 1. **Crying Sky, Crying Fairy**

Rain was crying. The sky was so dark although it was just around 2 p.m.

Behind Magnolia great church, Catedral, specifically at its funeral area, all of Fairy Tail guild members gathered. All of them, even Gildart Clive who was supposed to be in his long journey and Laxus Dreyar who was happened at Magnolia since a week before. They stood in front of a big grave stone that was sculpted beautifully like a cross and decorated with an elegant yet strong relief. A bucket of rose were laying on top of the altar. Rain made it wet.

Forgot to mention. Not only the Fairy Tails, but also some other people. Like Lyon Bastia and his team from Lamia Scale guild. Hibiki with his team as well, even their master, Blue Pegasus guild. Even some of the Galuna island residents, the demons who currently were in their human form. They all put on sad faces and wore all black, Bob even wore a black suit and Galuna island people wore black cloak. They all mourned, many of them cried while hearing the master of Fairy Tail, Makarov, speech sadly in front of the new grave. But only few of them who were really listening. Everyone was so sad that tears escaped freely from each eyes.

Erza Scarlet cried with head bowed. As master Makarov she respected so much spoke, her memory flew at the moment when she was just joined Fairy Tail. When she was still mourning at what Jellal did to her and expelled her from Tower of Heaven. That time she was sitting alone on river bank staring at the sunset and crying. The little Gray Fullbuster approached her to challenge her for fight. But when the boy saw little Erza's tears for the first time, he froze still and undid his plan. Instead, he comforted the scarlet head that made her cheered again and for the first time since her conflict with her little crush, she smiled.

Cana Alberona, the greatest-drunker in Fairy Tail cried quietly. She cried for her first friend in Fairy Tail, her best friend if she could say. And she believed if _he _also thought about her the same. Her shoulder shook violently and tried to not crying too hard. It was hard thought because she was hugging the female water mage who was crying so hard, like the rain. Juvia Loxar burnt her wet face onto Canas' shoulder to subdue her voice from crying all of her heart content. Now she wouldn't be able to see her beloved crush. Her heart shattered like glass hit wall hardly. She hadn't told him her feeling officially but now that opportunity wouldn't come again, never, since she had lost him, forever.

Cana stroke Juvia's hair to calm her down. It didn't affect Juvia. She was crying more and also the rain. It cried even more. But those people at funeral area didn't mind at all. They stood still there. Prayed for their nakama. The best Ice mage they'd ever had. Cana stared at the gloomy sky, still with tears-flowing eyes. She let hard water drops hit her face. _'You're so lucky,'_ she muttered.

'_Even sky cries for you'_

Lyon Bastia covered his eyes with one of his palms. He was also crying. Who won't cry after all when someone you consider as your own brother is gone? Lyon was happy with the rain since it hid his tears. Although everyone knew that he was crying. Sherryl patted his shoulder in comfort. She was also sad and mourned for the Ice mage. Lyon really loved the Ice mage and Sherryl loved anything her Lyon-sama loved. Lyon stared at master Makarov who was standing in front of the grave. Then his gaze moved toward the grave itself, smiled slightly for the how beautiful the grave was sculpted before finally his face lifted up toward the crying sky.

'_Finally you encounter with Ur, huh?'_

Lucy Heartfilia, one of his best friends, teammates and also nakama sobbed loudly. She had never thought would lose a man she considered as her big brother like this and this fast. She mad at herself for not being able to protect him. It was always him who protected her. Never changed. She leaned on Loke who gladly hugged her back. He used his own magical power just to attend this funeral ceremony. He also looked so sad and wanted to cry out his heart content, but no tears escaped from his emerald eyes. He had to be strong, for his master. He had to be the comforter for his master. He was mourned so badly about the lost of his former partner in S-class exam. This certain exhibitionist was his closest friend in guild. No one could be compared to him. They were so close back then that they made a promise, years before S-class exams, that if one of them was chosen as a candidate, then they would choose one another as their partner. And it was come true at the last S-class exam. Gray was chosen and Loke became his partner.

Natsu Dragneel's eyes were shadowed by his pink bang, covering his wet dark orbs. He bowed his head and his shoulder shook so hardly. His fist clenched and he gritted his teeth to hold his cried. Happy, his blue exceed cried clearly and was comforted by Carla, the white exceed who also looked so sad. Their height even didn't reach Natsu's knees. Wendy was also sobbing slowly. She tugged at Natsu's black suit, just like a little sister who tugged at her big brother for some candies. The little Dragon Slayer cried for lost her other big brother.

Natsu was mad at him self, disappointed, ashamed and also regretted. He felt like a weak one and a fool one. He couldn't protect his own nakama like what supposed to be. Although what they had said for each other were just some stupid insults. Although their communication were with their fist and kick only. Although they would fight for just a tiniest thing. Although they always said that they hated each other. But the fact was they cared for each other. They loved each other as nakama, best friend or might be love as siblings, they just had too high ego to admit it and found fighting as the best way to express it. Now the Ice mage, his frienemy was gone for eternity. How could he live his life with this condition? Who would be his daily fight opponent? There were Gajeel and other Fairy Tails but he believed no one of them that could be compared with he-called freak Ice mage.

***Fairy**Tail***

Few days before. Team Natsu decided to take an S-class mission after so long. Natsu chose a mission to free a village from mysterious mage's terror. With 2 million Jewel in reward made them enthusiastically took the request. So they departed to the so-called Guramon village, their requester. It took half a day by train which meant a most horrified torture for Natsu

In the village they learned that the perpetrator was a quite strong dark mage, Furcasso L'reille, a mage who had done many cruel things with his magic, Bloody Illusion. At first Lucy persuaded them to retreat since it was impossible for them to defeat a strong S-class mage. But Natsu insisted that they had to do it unless they would stain the name of Fairy Tail. Erza also said the same way while Gray comforted Lucy by saying that they would be able to defeat Furcasso. They were five in number and they had Erza with them, plus, Gray and Natsu's power were as though as an S-class level. Lucy finally agreed to at least try after their reward was increased into 5 million Jewel plus 2 celestial keys as bonus, a gold one and a silver one.

It wasn't hard for them to find their target's hiding place. Before dawn they found an old temple that located deep in forest near Guramon village. Natsu said that he smelt a really strong and wicked magic from the inside. Erza also twitched so as Gray. However, they still bravely stepped inside and searched for their target.

Nothing suspicious inside the temple but a strong and wicked feeling of magic their target had. They walked across the temple without any obstacle. It was easier and at the same time, suspicious. But both boys were pissed off since they had assumption if their target was underestimated them.

Finally they found Furcasso in the main hall of temple. The Illusion mage sat calmly with his evil grin plastered on face on a once was king's throne. Team Natsu twitched. This Fucasso man remembered them to Jose, former master of Phantom guild.

"Well, well, well…" Furcasso snickered. "What I have here…?" he examined the teens and saw Gray's tattoo throughout his unbuttoned shirt. "Ah…, Fairy Tail mages, what can I do to help you?"

"Stop babbling around! We're here to capture you and free Guramon village from your terror," Erza pointed her sword toward the snickering mage.

"Am I seeing it wrong? That lame village asks a bunch of kids to eh…, capturing me?" Furcasso laughed miserably. "They must be too deep in despair so they lose their mind,"

"Don't underestimate us, Furcasso. Our power is more than enough to beat you up!" Gray shouted confidently and made his Ice Make stance. Furcasso tilted his head and frowned like a child. Such a disgusting look with his middle-age face.

"You're supposed to call me with more respect since I'm much older than you. Well, at least call me with _san_, _oji-san_ or _oji-chan_, but don't call me _jii-san_ since I ain't that old," he chuckled again as if he was talking with a group of five years old kids. "Nee, but you heard so arrogant here, boy. _More than enough to beat me up_? You must learn your own lesson,."

***Fairy**Tail***

_'Our young Mage who loved God and who was Loved God'_

'_His lively lit up our dead surrounding'_

Master Makarov spoke toughly but also with deep mourn in it. He took a deep breath before continued,

'_He, who was loved by God and who loved God'_

'_He warmed us with his kindness. He cooled us with his cold Ice'_

'_His though heart gave us courage to move forward along with him'_

'_His care hover us all the time, his care for his comrade touching us'_

'_With his beautiful yet strong power he help us, protect us and fought alongside with us'_

'_The smart one, handsome one, the though one'_

'_Strong, kind'_

'_Let God welcome him in His embrace'_

Master Makarov's voice started to tremble. It didn't help at all. It just made other wanted to cry more.

'_Let he rest in peace'_

'_Our loved one, our comrade, our friend, brother, family…'_

Master Makarov's tears fell from his eyes finally.

'_My son,'_

'_The one we always love no matter what'_

_._

_._

_._

_._

_._

'_Gray Fullbuster'_

***Fairy**Tail***

Well, this is the first chapter. What do you think? First, I know the title is suck but, I can't think about better title. And then about the story. I know it's boring since almost no-dialog in it. I also feel so bored with story that has too little dialog. But I can't help though. I wanted to make this chapter as short as possible and the only way is to cut out the dialog. Hope you don't mind it. And, ah, how about my way to describe things? Especially about describing character's feeling. Is it too complicated? Is it too long? Unclear?

Ah, I think the characters are OOC and I'm also not good in making poem. i just wrote what are popped in my head.

Please tell me by giving review ^^

Err… did you find one cliff there? Yup, I planned to continue it in the next chapter. I just wanted to know your respond and opinion about my story before I continue it. And, the most embarrassment thing here is my grammar, correct? Hoaa! I'm so sorry for that. I guess you got some difficulties in reading it, Hontou ni Gomen na "

Please Review


	2. Chapter 2 Five Years

Hiyaa… meet me again in this second chapter \(^^)/ I'm so so so soooooo glad with your reviews about the first chapter, it gave me new spirit to write more. Ah, before that, I'd like to reply some reviews from you all… check these out~~…

**Emil C : **Aww… thank you… I'm surprised knowing you like my description and characters' feeling =D.

As for grammar… tee hee… I'm still not good in it. I'm counting on Miss Words' auto-correct-or. It's hard for me to decide whether I should use past tense or perfect tense (*well, not too important, so just ignore it).

And… I'm afraid that it won't be GraLu, GraJu or another pairing that involved Gray, so sorry…

**Laila Yagami : **It's so satisfying knowing you cried (^)b. Because of that I like angst. story, I like to make people cry for my story (*snickering). BTW, keep reading and review, may you? Hope you like it~~… =]

**Shiki 13 : **Hehe… thanks Shiki-san, I was afraid that I made the characters OOC but luckily you thought it was not (^^). I am some type of paranoid girl so I always thought that my works are all bad and afraid that there'll no any single person who likes it. However, your review lit up my 'fire'. Arigatou… arigatou... arigatou gozaimasuuuuu…. =D

Well, this is the second chapter, hope you enjoy it like the chapter before…

**Rewinsan :** Aha! You like Gray, you love angst, you're match with me! Oh… I'm so happy you like this. And I'm glad to be your Fairy God Mother who had granted 'yar wish… tee hee… ^^

Don't worry, this is the second chapter, please enjoy it and don't forget to review, 'kay…

Hem, you're Indonesian as well? Same as me… Saya juga orang Indonesia tulen, jadi maaf aja kalau bahasa Inggris-nya rada-rada kacau gitu ya… =D

***Fairy**Tail***

**ONCE AGAIN, LIFE**

Rate : K+

Genre : Angst., Family, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Drama

Mayor Chara : Gray Fullbuster

Pairing : Nothing this far

Warning : OOC, Discontinue, many miss-spelling and grammar. However, Please read!

**DISCLAIMER,**

I do not own Fairy Tail characters. It belongs to Hiro Mashima. If I owned it, I would make Gray Fullbuster as the main character. I love that hottie one so much ^^v

Chapter 2. **Five Years**

"_Nee, but you hear so arrogant here, boy. More than enough to beat me up? You must learn your own lesson,."_

***Fairy**Tail***

"I don't know why he was rewarded as an S-class mage. He isn't that strong" Gray commented disappointedly with a frown. In front of them were laying Furcasso, unconscious and beaten up. They did defeat their target but it also wasn't easy. They still got many cuts and bruises. Erza even got a deep cut on her leg that made her can barely stood properly. Natsu also got many wound and his head bleeding and panting. Gray clutched his wound on his stomach, it wasn't too big but it was still hurt.

"It doesn't mean he is weak, but it's you who gotten stronger," said Loke who was summoned by Lucy during their battle with Furcasso and hadn't been back to celestial world. Gray grinned at Loke's statement, it was similar with what he said back at S-class exam.

"Not only that, it was because he underestimated us as well," the Titania stated seriously and with a little exasperation. "He even didn't use his Bloody Illusion magic,"

Natsu growled slowly, maybe because found out that his opponent didn't take them seriously, "Heh! Like we won't be able to deal with his _Doody_ Illusion!" He wiped a little blood from his lips.

"It's _bloody_, Natsu… but… I still wondering about it, what kind of magic is that Bloody Illusion?" Lucy tilted her head confusedly. Erza ripped her own skirt to tie her wounded leg before explained, "It's a brutal, cruel and horrible magic."

"Actually it's simply an illusion magic. The difference is, this Bloody Illusion affects its' victims' body as well. For example, if he made us hallucinated about us being shot by gun, or got slash by sword then your real body would get the same impact as what you see in your hallucination."

"So, it's just _that_?" Natsus' eyebrows furrowed. "We just have to fight him in our mind. It isn't that hard, right?" Natsu suggested with his goofy grin. Happy shouted, "Aye!" to support Natsus' opinion. Gray and Loke behind him thought about it for a moment before nodded quietly in agreement. However, Lucy shook her head hesitantly, "I don't know, guys. I doubt your way. It isn't _that_ simple either,"

"Yes, it isn't that simple. Once you're in his illusion, then you won't be able to do anything since the magic user is the ruler. It's like… you trap within the users' world." Erza explained again.

"Hmm… yea, I can figure it out, so it's a troublesome magic after all…" Gray stared at unconscious-Furcasso for a minute.

"…but more importantly, finally one million for each of us! And two new keys!" Lucy shouted excitedly. Their mission was a complete success and their rewards were waiting. The others couldn't help but smiled in joy.

But without they realized it, Furcasso quietly woke up and in a flash move grabbed Gray's hand since Gray was right in front of him then pulled it down so their faces could be in the same level. Gray yelped and made the others turned around and shocked to see that Furcasso was awake. Gray's wide-opened eyes were forced to look at Furcasso's now-totally-red orbs.

"GRAY! DON'T LOOK AT HIS EYES!" Erza screamed in horror but it was too late.

"Bloody Illusion" Furcasso whispered in triumphant and a magic cycle appeared between Furcasso's face and Gray's shock face. The Fairies stared at them in shock and also awe before Erza hysterically screamed, "CUT THEIR CONNECTION SO GRAY WON'T FALL TOO DEEP INTO HIS ILLUSION!"

Loke quickly understood then pulled Gray away from Furcasso. Lucy watched in fear for the sudden riot, so as Happy. Erza forced her leg to move then held Furcasso down to ground. She kept his face away from her and her nakama's.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" Erza yelled. Furcasso snickered like a crazy man.

"Heh, just like my usual but with extra bonus" he said. Erza furiously hit the man's face onto floor hardly.

"Undo your spell or I'll kill you!"

Furcasso just snickering more, "Too late,"

They heard a horrible cough from Gray. Gray's face turned paler and suddenly several deep cuts mysteriously appeared on his bare upper body. Gray coughed blood. All of his nakamas stared at him with fear.

"GRAY!"

They ran toward Gray. Loke carefully laid him on his lap with his shaking hands. Even Erza left Furcasso just like that and ran toward Gray who in a wink was in critical condition.

"It's bad! We have to bring him to a hospital!"

"There's no time! Lucy! Call Virgo! She can at least give the first help!" Loke demanded hysterically. Gray's blood streamed like waterfall from his long-deep cut. Gray's face turned paler until it was at the same level as snow's color. His breath was damn heavy. He was between death and alive.

"Gray! Hold on!" Natsu yelled. He was too panic to address Gray with his usual insult. Gray's scent was covered with blood scent for Natsu. And it made him terrified. For his life he never smelt something like this. He knew if more blood smelt, that's mean the wound was worse. And he knew if Gray's current wound was extremely bad. The worst.

"I open the gate of Maiden! Virgo!" Lucy cried as swinging her key but nothing happened.

"LUCY! Quick!" Natsu demanded. "I don't have enough magical power!" Lucy cried.

"Open the gate of Maiden! Open the gate of Maiden! Virgo! Please!" Lucy screamed and soon a glow appeared in front of Lucy, revealing her maid celestial spirit, Virgo.

"What's wrong, princess?" Virgo asked anxiously. Seemed like she knew if the current situation was quiet serious since she didn't ask for punishment like she usually did.

"Please… save Gray… he is critic…" Lucy panted for too much in using her magic.

"VIRGO!"

Virgo turned around and saw Loke called for her. "Quick! Save him!" Virgo nodded and hurriedly went to Gray's side and took out her medical tool from nowhere.

"Where do you think you're going?" Natsu yelled to Furcasso who had regaining his composure and trying to ran away. Erza and the others turned toward where Natsu was shouting. They'd almost completely forgotten about their true target. Natsu chased him. Fortunately, he was way faster than Furcasso so he did catch him up then once again Furcasso was knocked up again.

"Happy! Please go to the village and tell them we need some doctors for Gray, please be quick!" Erza ordered to the blue exceed that instantly gave his usual, "Aye" as the reply. He stared at the critic Gray in anxious before flew out of temple heading the village.

"Hey…" they heard a cracking weak voice came out from the ice mage's bloody mouth.

"Gray! Stop talking! Virgo will help you close your wounds!" Erza demanded him. But instead, Gray put on his goofy weak smile and continued to speak, his eyes half-opened.

"I'm… feeling funny… cough," Gray coughed blood. Everyone gasped in surprised.

"Shut your mouth up, Ice-head! You'll make it worst!" Natsu shouted sharply, his face was almost as pale as Gray and cold sweat dropped down from his temple. Hearing that, Gray's grin widened.

"…I know…. I'm… cough… wounded so bad…, however… I feel almost… nothing, funny, eh…? And cough… stop calling me like that…, Ash-brain…" Gray kept insisting to talk. Everyone started to feel restless with it. "Gray… please stop talking…" Lucy pleaded, tears started flowing from her eyes.

"Luce… you're… crying…? Why? Cough… Please don't…, I'm weak of… woman's tears…" Gray said weakly, his condition worsened. Virgo finished cleaning his wound but they gasped in shock seeing how deep his wound was. And plus, his blood didn't stop flowing. He had lost so much of his blood.

"…anyway… I just wanna say something…, don't… know why but… I feel that I have… to say it… now, I feel as… if I won't… get another… chance if I… miss this one…" Gray's breath became heavier and shorter. Natsu punched the ground beside Gray hardly with his fist.

"DON'T TALK AS IF YOU'RE GOING TO DIE BASTARD!" Natsu growled angrily but Gray just let out a weak chuckled that soon changed into another bloody cough.

"Gray! Don't act recklessly!" Loke demanded in worry. Gray ignored him.

"Die, huh?... Heh, cough… am I that weak… to die just… like this?... What a… shame… anyway… I just wanna… say that… no matter what…, I really… love Fairy Tail. This guild… is wonderful… and I'm… cough… so sad to leave it…"

"Gray…" Erza mumbled weakly. "What are you saying? You won't leave this guild…"

"After Deliora…, after… Ur…, I found my… home there, Fairy Tail. Although… it's full with many weirdos… but it's… fun and interesting. Like you, fire head…, and also you Erza, Lucy…, and also you…, Loke dude"

"Gray… don't waste your energy, you'll definitely be saved…" Loke spoke shakily. He helped wiping Gray's face that was covered with blood and sweat using his own suit sleeved. Virgo was still trying to clean the ice mage's wound. Barely audible, Virgo mumbling something like, "It's too bad…" The other Fairies who heard that twitched.

"Virgo… onegai…" Lucy whispered between her soft sob. She grabbed one of Gray's hands and clutched it tightly. No, she didn't want to lose him now. Virgo could only nod but her expression said that she was doubt about Gray's safety. His blood couldn't be stopped and Virgo could feel if his life spirit became less and less in every second. She was afraid if the mage's life didn't last long. Virgo took a short glance to the Leo spirit, Loke. And from expression Loke made, she could tell if he feared the same thing.

Gray's breath turned stiffer. He slowly closed his onyx eyes.

"Thanks so much… and… sorry for being weak in the end" he whispered. And then, it was nothing in him. No breath, no blood flew within his body. Just numbness and coldness. Everyone was frozen. They tried to register what happened. But for everyone surprised, Natsu who before was standing fell on his knees with terrified face.

"No… no… GRAY!" he screamed from other side of Gray.

"It's too late…" Virgo mumbled. "His heart got a deep cut and both of his lungs also got a slash. He lost too many blood… he… he…"

"GRAY! Open your fucking eyes now! Don't you dare to die now! GRAY!" Nastu screamed madly as shaking his frienemy's shoulder before his other friends could react for his sudden act.

"NATSU! What the heck you're doing? His wounds could be worse!" Erza yelped for Natsu's violent act. But then she gasped in horror and disbelief as Natsu's words flew through her brain.

"No… no!" Erza whispered with her shaking voice. She stared at her unconscious nakama and found if his eyes wouldn't be opened again, his chest didn't move up and down gently as oxygen ran into his lungs. Erza abruptly reached for his hand and found it so cold, stiff and no pulse. "No…"

Loke clenched his grips on Gray's shoulder. He shook violently and audible sob barely heard.

"I'm so sorry hime…" Virgo said sadly to the shock Lucy. "…I didn't do my job properly. You can punish me as hard as you want,"

"Virgo…" Lucy spoke with shaking voice. "…you didn't mean… you didn't mean that Gray…" she covered her mouth and shaking violently. Virgo nodded sadly and mourned. "Impossible… G—…Gray is—…"

"Gray-sama has died,"

***Fairy**Tail***

"NO! GRAY!" Natsu abruptly sat up. Pink cover fell from his sweating body and he was panting heavily as if he had run miles away. He saw a thin beam of line peeked through an opening in a piece of baby-blue curtains. He realized if it had been morning and he remembered that he was in Lucy's apartment, on the owner's bed.

"Hnn… Natsu… you're so loud…" mumbled a female blonde from her comfortable mattress on floor. She sat up lazily and rubbed her sleepy eyes as yawning.

"So… sorry…" Natsu stuttered slowly. He was still in shock from his previous dream. His sweat couldn't stop falling from his temple and he was shaking slightly. Lucy saw that and positioned herself beside the sweating man. She rubbed his back softly.

"Were you dreaming about _that_?" Lucy asked slowly. We knew that what she meant was about when their precious nakama died. It wasn't the first time for Natsu, no, not only Natsu, but everyone who witnessed that tragedy had the same dream. But it was Natsu who got it more often. Why did that happened? Was it because Natsu who felt more mourned than everybody else? They were only able to guess.

"I…" Natsu stated shakily. His face full of sadness, mourned, horror and guilty. Lucy knew that he was still blaming himself fro losing their ice mage. Lucy hugged him for comfort.

"Natsu… it's an old story. You shouldn't trap in it for more, we have to move forward" she whispered slowly. Natsu just kept quiet. Lucy sighed and released her hug then her hands move to the pinky's shoulder.

"Now Natsu, you have to take a shower. You're sweating badly," Lucy advised. Natsu just nodded lightly and headed toward bathroom without a single word. Lucy let out a sad sigh again.

It had been five years since the ice mage gone. Lucy leaned onto her window that was still closed by her curtain as rememorized what happened five years ago. After they found out that Gray had gone they couldn't say a single word nor did single movement but frozen stiff in horror and big shock. Gray lay died in front of they all, on Loke's lap. Died, numb and as cold as his ice. Somehow, that time Lucy hoped that the body that laying there was actually Gray's ice clone. Like what he made when they were in hotel resort back at Tower of Heaven event. When they were attacked by Erza's childhood friends. But she finally realized if it wouldn't be happened. That body was really Gray's.

Furcasso himself almost managed to run away before Natsu knocked him off brutally, ready to kill him. But Erza stopped him, said that he shouldn't kill him. Fairy Tail mages couldn't kill anyone, no matter what their enemy had done. However, all of them knew that Erza herself had a giant urge to kill Furcasso.

Happy with several villagers who claimed their self as doctor or paramedic or whatever you think to, finally arrived at the temple where the Fairy Tail mages frozen in shock and sadness. Happy cried as well knowing if their Gray had passed away. With the help of villagers they brought Gray's body and Fucasso back to Guramon village. Villagers glad that the perpetrator that had killed many of them for these past a month and half was managed to be captured. But they also sad and mourned that one of their savior gone. They helped them—Fairy Tail mages to clean Gray's corpse as Erza immediately contact master Makarov about this sad news using a communication lacryma. Master was shock and furious about lost one of his children. They could tell that master trying hard to hold his cry as he ordered them to go back home immediately so they could bury him properly in Magnolia.

So they went back to Magnolia right that day with Gray's corpse. They left Furcasso to council. The Fairy Tail mages received their reward although Erza said that they didn't need it anymore, however, the villagers insisted. They got their 5 million Jewel and Lucy got two new keys, Gate of Fish, Pisces and a silver key called the Queen of Goose which could be used as a transportation, she was such kind of elegant yet arrogant spirit, but this Queen of Goose was useful enough.

Lucy and Happy cried during mostly of their way back. Erza acted tough but once in a while they saw tears fell from her eyes. Natsu just stay quiet. No one knew how he was feeling. He looked so furious, sad and also guilty. Even during their time in carriage that brought them to Magnolia, Natsu miraculously didn't feel sick at all. When they reached their guild, everyone had been waiting on guild's gate. Even Lyon and some others who had a relative and knew Gray, guild member had contacted Lyon and the other about Gray before team Natsu's arrival. Master stood in front line to welcome team Natsu. Most of them cried and mumbled their disbelief about what happened to their nakama, after saw their nakama's corpse with their own two eyes. That time was raining hard, no wonder since Juvia was there and she was the one who cried loudest.

***Fairy**Tail***

Lucy blinked when she heard her bathroom door opened revealing Natsu. He had done bathing and with his small grin he said that he would go to guild first and got some food. Lucy smiled back and said her reply as stood up from her bed. After Natsu gone from her front door, smile on Lucy's face faded. She stared sadly at that door.

Since Gray died, Natsu changed. Not only him actually, but guild changed a bit. It became quieter than it used to be. Maybe because one of its riot-maker wasn't there anymore. Indeed some small fighting often happened in their guild, but it wasn't as often as before. Guild felt gloomier. So as Natsu. He was cheerful, still, yeah, but he was calmer and looked more mature now. Lucy should be happy with his now-better personality, but in fact, she didn't. She instead felt something was missing. She missed the old Natsu and ridiculous fighting between Natsu and Gray.

Erza changed as well. Now she was more protective. She didn't allow her nakama to take a danger mission unless she was sure that they could. She was stricter about rule to take a mission. She prohibited a non-S-class mages to take S-class quest. As long as Lucy remembered, she hadn't taken an S-class mission since her last one five years ago. As a result, now, team Natsu seldom took a mission together. Another thing that was missing for Lucy.

Lucy saw her calendar. '_It had been five years…_' she thought. During those five years, so many things happened. Master Makarov pensioned a year after Gray's death and was replaced by his grandson, Laxus who unexpectedly could lead their guild as good as his grandpa. Juvia, the one who always loved Gray was now dating Lyon. Everyone thought that it was good for her to move forward. However, Juvia sworn that she still and always loved her Gray-sama. Lyon seemed didn't mind about that after all. And one more thing about Juvia was she had been an S-class mage since three years ago, at the same year when she started dating Lyon. While Natsu became an S-class as well a year after that.

'_It's tomorrow…_' Lucy thought again, still staring at her calendar. '_Gray's death anniversary_'

Lucy walked toward her desk. There laying her novel that had been a nice covered book. Few months after Gray's death, Lucy finished her manuscript. Like what she had promised before, Levy became her very first official reader. Levy persuaded Lucy to publish it to other, to world. Lucy did it and the result wasn't bad at all. Her manuscript had turned into a best seller novel. Heartspirit Luce, Lucy's pen name, was now popular. She got more order to make another novel that she did it gladly. Now she had another job beside being a Fairy Tail mage.

Single tear escaped her eyes as she clutched that book, her novel. Actually she had another desire beside Levy being her first reader and her novel being so popular. Gray, she knew if that ice mage always waited for her story. Although she was often annoyance by that ice mage to read her manuscript without her permission, but she was quite happy when he said that he was curious about what happened next in her story. She was happy when Gray praised her story so she decided to make Gray her second reader after Levy.

However, Lucy knew, if that wouldn't be happening. No matter what.

"Gray…" she whispered sadly to the empty air. "…I wonder about your opinion after reading my novel,"

***Fairy**Tail***

Err… here ya' go! The second chapter. I'd never expected it would be this long. What do you think?

As I re-read it again, I found if Gray looked so weak and OOC here. Hiyaa… I don't want that actually, but that's how the story goes. Sometimes I like when the tough and strong and cool characters become weak and cute. (*Geez, what a hobby)

About that _Bloody Illusion_ if you still cannot understand what I meant, then I'll tell you that it's similar with Itachis' jutsu in Naruto (*it called _Tsukiyomi_ if I didn't remember it wrong). But this Bloody Illusion creates the real wound from what you got in your hallucination. Yeah, something is like that…

Then again, sorry for my grammar, I found some green line in my document (*you know, the auto-correct and spelling & grammar check-er) and I didn't know how to fix it (*I mean my miss-grammars)

Please review… I don't mind receiving flame thought. (*For your information, I'm pessimistic and paranoid girl ^')

Please Review, Please


	3. Chapter 3 Death Anniversary, Mysterious

Yeay… it's me again. I got more awesome reviews from you all, Thanks so muchhh! Arigatou gozaimasuu! Danke! Makasih banyak! Syukran! etc. =9 It made me giggled and squealed in the middle of the night XD. And before I started my story I want to reply some reviews from you all!

**SoulReaperCrewer **: Thank you… I'm happy you like my story and of course, I update it so please enjoy ^^. Ah, pairing, huh? I'm so sorry, I think I won't make any pairing of Gray, he was died, remember? ^,^'

**Rewinsan** : Hehe… I'm glad you cried (*cruel) don't hold you tears, pour 'em down… tee hee… XP

Sebenarnya awalnya agak cemas juga soal reaksi pembaca tentang chapter dua ni, abisnya gimana ya… apa nggak terkesan kayak… sinetron gitu? Tapi untunglah reaksi kalian positif semua, yea…! v(^^)v

Ganbante ne, Rewinsan (^^)b N jangan lupa review, 'key? Moga-moga kamu juga suka chapter yang ini,

**Layla Yagami **: Tee hee… because of that I like writing angst story. Readers' tears are the most satisfying respond for me, khekekeke…. (*once again, cruel)

Ah, and I think you won't cry as much as when you read the last chapters anymore since I reduce the angsty from my story =D. I hope you like this 3rd chapter as well. Please RnR, 'kay? ^^

**Emil C** : Yeah! Emil-san, I'm happy you like my description and about Natsu, well… like usual, he slept over at Lucys' house without permission of the owner herself (*how ungentlemanly of him making a lady slept on floor while he slept on bed). He took a shower there because he was sweating. Hey, who is in the world want to start their morning with sweating skin? It's so uncomfortable… =P. Lucy allowed him to use his shower—which was a very rare occasion—since she was pity him for having that nightmare again.

Then Lucy, no, she didn't become an S-class mage. I don't want her to be all strong and mighty (*not because I hate her, it just… I think this story won't be so much fun if I make it that way ^^")

Ow… thank you for telling me about the 'First-aid' thing. I'd searched for it in my dictionary but I found nothing (TT,) so in the end I wrote it based on what I believed (*you know, 'first-aid' is '_pertolongan pertama_' in Indonesia, '_pertolongan_'='help' and '_pertama_'='first'. So, _pertolongan+pertama_= First Help! Ahahahaha… XD )

You're welcome. And thanks too for giving me reviews. Hope you enjoy this chapter like what you did for other chapters. RnR, don't forget, OK? =D

(***A/N**: I think it isn't angsty here anymore... I think...)

***Fairy**Tail***

**ONCE AGAIN, LIFE**

Rate : K+

Genre : Angst., Family, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Drama

Mayor Chara : Gray Fullbuster

Pairing : Nothing this far

Warning : OOC, Discontinue, many miss-spelling and grammar. However, Please read!

**DISCLAIMER,**

I do not own Fairy Tail characters. It belongs to Hiro Mashima. If I owned it, I would make Gray Fullbuster as the main character. I love that hottie one so much ^^v

Chapter 3. **Death Anniversary, Mysterious Boy**

_Here Rest In Peace,_

_Gray Fullbuster,_

_The Great Ice Mage of Great Guild,_

_Fairy Tail_

_In his 19__th__ age_

_x766-x792_

"Hey, Popsicle,"

Natsu stood in front of Grays' grave behind Magnolia Cathedral. His gaze was almost blank. He just stared and stared at those marble materials before spoke again slowly.

"It had been almost 5 years, huh? And tomorrow it will be perfectly 5 years"

The funeral area was completely empty except for the certain salmon-haired man. It had been some sort of routine for the Fire mage. Almost every morning, whenever he was in this Magnolia city, he would go to his nakamas' grave. Sometimes he would just stare at it and sometimes he would talk about something minor, as if his dead-nakama was really there.

"Man, time flies so fast…" Natsu mumbled again. "Don't you know how many things you've missed during these past five years? Heh, first is, I finally manage to be an S-class, eat that, snowman!" he grinned but soon it faded as no one responded his statement. The Dragon Slayer exhaled then relaxed.

"It's annoying…" he whined and put both his hands behind his spiky-haired head. "It's annoying you won't be able to reply my words anymore. Although it had been five years, but still, I'm not used to it yet. Like I said, time flies so fast"

It silent again. Once in a while cool breeze came brushing his salmon-colored strand.

"I know… I know… I've said things like that for million times already. However…" Natsu spoke again as if he could hear someone—that was obviously Gray—replied his statement. "…I wanna you do witness these wonderful moments by yourself. Fairy Tail… is wonderful like what you said, yet…

It's still difference without you, Ice-freak" Natsu smiled sincerely toward that beautifully engraved stone. "It's not like me to say something like these and actually I was really reluctant to, but…"

"I miss you, dude,"

***Fairy**Tail***

"Morning, Mira-san" Lucy greeted and approached the barmaid. The latter smiled and replied with the same, "Morning, Lucy-chan."

"Have you seen Natsu or Happy?" Lucy asked after scanning the whole guild and didn't manage to find the salmon-colored head or flying blue cat.

"I haven't Lucy-chan. I think Happy is still in mission with Wendy and Carle since yesterday. I'm sure they will come back this afternoon sharp. And Natsu, he hasn't come yet,"

Lucys' eyes softened after hearing Mirajanes' statement.

"How odd, he said he wanted to get some food here first…" she mumbled softly. _'…so he went to that place again…'_

"Umm… Lucy-chan, do you think he went to Grays' grave like usual?" Mirajane asked cautiously. Somehow she knew if her comrades still uneasy with topic about their dead-nakama, Gray.

Lucy smiled and gave Mirajane a light shrug, "Who knows? Mira-chan, what can I have for breakfast today?"

***Fairy**Tail***

The next day…

"Lyon, do you miss Gray-sama?" a female blue-haired mage wearing all black asked as leaned on her now-lover, Lyon Bastia who now was wearing all black outfit. The white haired man—Lyon—smiled and wrapped his arm around the water mages' shoulder, "I do and I'll always do,"

Juvia smiled and bent down to put a bouquet of white rose. "So as Juvia. Juvia does miss him and will always do,"

Lyon smiled and patted Juvias' head. He stared at words that engraved on Grays' grave.

"Somehow, I found it funny," he chuckled. Juvia looked at him confused, "What's so funny?"

"It says he died when he was 19, but… year x766-x792?"

Juvia glanced at the grave as well. After she got what Lyon meant, she couldn't help but smiled, "Yeah, but Gray-sama and the other were 'freezing' in Tenrou Island, remember?"

"Of course, you all vanished all of a sudden for seven years. Don't you know what I felt that time?"

His partner sighed softly, "Juvia was so scared that time…" She closed her eyes remembering that horrible scene. "That black dragon attacked Juvia and her friends in the Island. It was a big miracle that they could survive,"

"It was indeed a miracle," Lyon grinned to the water mage. "I kinda envy your guild for having that strong bond so you could activate that spell,"

"Fairy Sphere? Yeah, Juvia was so lucky to be able to join this guild. However, if that time Juvia died, she didn't mind at all…"

Lyon startled at her respond and stared at her in disbelief. Juvia looked at him back with a smile on her cute face.

"At least, Juvia die in Gray-samas' side,"

They just stood there in comfortable silent before they heard someone approach them.

"You're so early today," greeted that 'someone'. The couple turned around toward the voices' source and saw Lucy who was holding a big bouquet of flower with Erza, Wendy and both exceed, Happy and Carle, Mirajane and her youngest sister, Lisanna, Levy and Cana who didn't bring any liquor to respect Grays' grave. They all were wearing black clothes.

"Yo, girls…" Lyon greeted back, grinning. Juvia gave them a smiled as well before replied, "Juvia and Lyon have a mission after this. They're afraid if they won't make it for Gray-samas' anniversary since this mission will take about 3 days to be finished,"

"Ah… another alliance mission, huh? You lovebird really can't be separated for too long," Cana smirked.

"I guess so…" Lucy winked then put their flower next to Juvia and Lyons', while that 'lovebird' couple blush ten shade of red.

"Where're the others? The males?" Lyon asked because no-man between the new-coming group.

"Mostly of them are on mission but they who aren't and master Makarov said will come soon, master Laxus is on an urgent meeting, while Natsu…" Lisanna answered but hesitant about the last statement.

"Natsu will come, obviously, he just wants to come alone," Lucy helped her finished her words. Suddenly a light appeared in front of them all revealing Loke. "And I'm here as well," he grinned toward the group. Lucy smiled back at him, "I know you'd come,"

They stared at the cross-like grave in silence. No one willingly spoke as they prayed and rememorized their dead nakama. That mage who had weird stripping-habit. That looked-cold mage yet so warm inside.

"It has been 5 years, no?" Lucy spoke finally. Her voice sounded hoarse and everyone could see she abruptly wiped her eyes. Loke put his hand on his masters' slender shoulder, "Yeah, it is,"

"It has been that long. I almost didn't realize it, yet this guilty feeling doesn't fade away…" Erza said sadly while put her hand onto her chest. Lucy and Loke who witnessed that horrible scene directly bowed their head with the same feeling of guilty. The others just changed glance. They did understand their nakamas' feeling and felt sympathy for it. Who won't feel that way if friend they cared so much died right from of them with them who cannot do a single thing? However, they knew if the three of them couldn't blame themselves like that forever.

"It's okay, Erza…" Mirajane said slowly and reached for Erzas' arm to comfort her. "It wasn't your fault if everything turned out like that. It's none fault,"

"How come it's no one fault? If I didn't act too reckless, if I—…" Erza snapped. Mirajane sighed. Erza was such a stubborn one. It had been million times already they reassured her, but Erza just couldn't stop blaming herself. even after five years.

"Erza, it's not good to always blame yourself like that. It won't make Gray happy up there," Cana patted the Titanias' back softly. Erza just bowed her head in regret.

"That's right, Erza." Lyon spoke up. "He won't be peaceful if he finds out his precious nakama still thinking that way. You know Gray, right?" he grinned.

"I miss him so much…" Lucy whispered. Levy grabbed Lucys' hand and squeezed it slowly. "We too, Lu-chan,"

The other nodded respectfully.

"Yeah, we too,"

***Fairy**Tail***

Still on the same day. It was dusk. Mostly of Fairy Tail mages were inside their big guild building they had since some years before. Include team Natsu who sat in silence on one table. No one wanted to speak or did something. They were still enjoying mourn for their ex-teammate death anniversary. The other respected their will so no one dared to make any unnecessary noises.

Laxus, the new master sat on bar, talking in slow voice with the barmaid, Mirajane, and with Fairy Tail former master, Makarov, who although wasn't a master anymore but he still like to roam in guild.

"They're mourning too much. It had been five years yet, they're still like that?" Laxus mumbled, pointing at team Natsu on their table. Mirajane smiled sadly and Makarov kept sipping his drink.

"Ara, let them be, just this day in a year," Mirajane said. "Actually I still feel the same. Lost Gray was a great lost for us. It leaves a big hole in each heart."

Laxus grunted, "I know… however, they have to move forward. The dark past is a mages' weakness. And those attitude of them just will make them worse,"

"No, it isn't completely true," Makarov put his mug down finally. He flipped his arms in front of his chest. "Sometimes mourn gives you new power as well,"

Laxus could only roll his eyes and muttering, "Yeah, whatever,"

Suddenly Fairy Tail guild door burst open. Everyone in the guild snapped up and turned their head toward the door. There stood a small figure wearing dirty long cloak which covered its whole body include its face. It was panting heavily and shaking. All of the mages inside stared at the new-sudden comer with curious and shocked expression for its appearance. Without anyone noticed it, Natsu flinched as his nose caught a familiar scent. The scent that had lost for so long.

"Is… is it Fairy Tail?"

It was a boy if you heard from his voice. And without wasting any second, that boy fell down unconscious with a soft thud.

"HEY, BOY!" everyone gasped in surprise and hurried to the unconscious boy. Unexpectedly, Natsu and Happy reached him first. He carefully lifted that tiny body and flipped it until his front body faced them.

"What happened to him?" "Who is he?" "Is he okay?"

Those questions rang around Natsu and the unconscious little boy. Natsu stared in curious at the boy he hugged. _'His scent is… familiar and somehow I feel like I miss it, could it be…'_

"Natsu, let's open his cloak so we could see his face," Lucy suggested and softly opened the little boys' cloak. As everyone could see his face, they gasped once again in disbelief.

This boys' face was pale, whether it was because of his pain or it was natural. He had messy black hair that now was dirty from dirt. His eyes closed and his face was dirty as well. He looked so thin maybe because he hadn't eaten for about who-now-how-long. However, what made the Fairy Tail mages so shock wasn't his condition. But it was his face. It was resemble so much with…

"GRAY!"

Happy squealed but abruptly cover his mouth with his both paws. Lucy, Natsu and Erza looked at the boy with wide eyes opened, also the others who could see the boys' face clearly. They couldn't believe in their own eyes. Yes, that boy looked really familiar with Gray Fullbuster, their dead Ice mage. That boy resembled _him_ so much as if they saw a miniature of Gray. A 5 years old Gray.

"Please give me a way," Laxuss' voice heard beyond the crowd surrounded Natsu and the boy. People did give Laxus, Makarov and Mirajane a way straight toward the now-shocking Natsu.

"Master Makarov… Laxus…" Erza uttered. Even when Makarov wasn't a master anymore, but she couldn't stop addressing Makarov by 'master'. Makarov just hummed as he looked at the little boy, examining his tiny body.

"He really resembling that Ice boy," Laxus mumbled, disbelieving at what he saw although he successfully hid it. He had to keep his cool as guild master.

"He… he doesn't just resembling Ice-freak…" Natsu stuttered. "…he is—this boy is… _him_"

"WHAT?"

"Natsu, what… what do you mean?" Erza frowned. The other exchanged glance confusedly.

"His scent… it's Grays' scent. Completely same," Natsu mumbled. Cold sweat fell from his temple, his eyes wide opened in shock. Actually he was also unsure about this, but his nose never lied to him.

Everybody eyes turned at him, doubting him and then moved to the boy. Although he resembled Gray so much but it was still impossible if he was _him_.

"Na… natsu… it's not possible," Lucy echoed their thought. "There's no way this boy is Gray himself, as we know if Gray has—… has…"

"HE IS GRAY! I KNOW IT! THIS SMELL IS TOTALLY HIS!" Natsu yelled and tightened his hug to the Gray-boy. Lucy yelped for sudden outburst of the furious Fire Dragon Slayer. It was so rare lately for him to yell or even angry since… well, Grays' death and his metamorphose into someone more mature. Even Happy was frightened so he hid behind Lucys' back.

They heard a soft moan and looked down. Those eyes of little boy flickered and then completely opened. Those eyes… were similar with their dead Ice-mages' as well. Onyx orbs. Now he looked perfectly like a miniature of Gray Fullbuster.

"EEEEKKK!" that mysterious boy yelped and jumped out from Natsus' embrace. He tightened his dirty cloak and took steps backward to gain more distance with Natsu. But what a shame for him that his back collapsed with Laxuss' leg. The boy cried when seeing at how scary mans' face he collapsed with.

"Who… who are you…?" the little boy ducked, shaking and stuttering. They stared at him dumbfounded and with a sympathy look.

"There, there, don't be scare, son…" Makarov soothing the ducking-boy and gave him a slow pat on his head. "We won't harm you," Makarov smiled when that boy hesitantly lifted his head up.

"Who are you?" the boy asked again. Now Mirajane bent down so her face was in the same level as the little boy. "We're Fairy Tail mages. Earlier you mentioned that you searched for Fairy Tail, right?" Mirajane gave him her famous gentle smile. Hearing Fairy Tail, that boys' face brightened. A childish smile spread across his pale face.

"Really? So you're mages?" he squealed happily. Mirajane nodded, happy that this mysterious boy finally shoved away his fear toward them. "Yes, we are. I'm Mirajane. What's yours?"

That boy grinned widely and announced his name which made everyone gasped in surprise again and again.

"I'm Gray… just Gray… maybe"

***Fairy**Tail***

Tee hee… finally oh finally that boy appeared. (^^)/'

Er… so? What do you think about this 3rd chapter? I feel unconfident with this one. It isn't angsty anymore and for some reason, it became harder to write =P. It's hard for me too, make Erza in character, maybe because she isn't my favorit character. Just tell me if there're OOC or any mistake by review and review, please… I also accept anonymous reviews and even flame (*but please don't be too hot, ne?)! I really need to know your opinion so I know what I can do for next chapter.

Hum… if you want to suggest me about next story, I'll gladly receive that too because honestly I start to get writers' block here (*Oh, No! this may be become a discontinued fict of mine... again )

Thanks for you all who had spared your time to read it, and…

\(^,^) Please Review (^,^)/


	4. Chapter 4 Theories, Reincarnation

Yatta! I got more reviews from 3rd chapter than previous chapters! Sugoiii~~~ desu yo! XD.

Okay, like usual, I'll reply those reviews of yours here since I'm too lazy to log in and reply your reviews via PM, gomen ne…. Btw, THANK YOU SO MUCH! for these awesome reviews…, and I also want to say THANK YOU for you who have added this story into your favorite stories XD

**Rewinsan** : No… no… he was not Grays' son, but he had sort of… link with Gray Fullbuster, spiritually. Ah yeah… after I read your review I fell into a deep thought like, 'Oh iya, kalau Gray bereinkarnasi ke tubuh yang seusia dengannya, ceritanya jadi lebih gampang dibuat ya… n bisa juga tuh dibuat cerita romance yang berhubungan dengan Gray… ah, atau gimana kalau dia bereinkarnasi ke dalam tubuh cewek? Pasti kocak kalau misalnya dia cekcok dengan Natsu atau yang lain, dsb… ^^

Tapi yah, udah kebikin yang kayak gini, jadi… biarlah... Lanjut! ^^v

And… hubungan Natsu n Gray selanjutnya ya… (*spoiler neh,) mungkin kakak-adik aja deh, secara… Natsu dkk khan masih pada young =9

Btw, Thanks for your review… it's ROCK! XD

**Layla Yagami** : Tee hee… thanks for your review… and now, I'll present you my 4th chapter… enjoy it and hope you like this one as well… =D

**Micky Moon** : Thanks for your review… and so sorry for disappointing you about the angsty. About that description thingy, I admit that I have big lack here due to the language problem. I have too little vocab that make me hard to describe anything ^^". But… I cannot get about 'eh' and 'oh' things you mentioned earlier, tee hee… sorry… (*scratch my head nervously). Thanks again, I'll try me best to keep the flow ^^

And I don't mind at all receiving your advice since it'll help me a lot to improve my story. I'll gladly receive flame instead. So thank you for your review… ^^b

**Skdc8595 **: Aww… thanks… your review made me blushed and giggled like a crazy people, ehehehe… XD

And here's the update, hope you like it too… keep reading, 'kay… ^^

**MitsuiKoi** : hehe… no, no… I'll continue it… sorry make you worried. But thanks for your reviews that I could 'destroy' that annoying writers' block ^^b. Thanks so much! Arigatou… gozaimasuuu for your review, I cannot tell how happy I'm, XD

Some clues for you, this little Gray indeed had link with dead Gray, yeah sort a…

Pairing…? Actually I don't focus in Romance here, more like Family and Drama, but there're some hint of JuLy and I'm planning to make NaLu here, (*'planning')

Well, 4th chapter. I hope so much that you'll like it too, RnR, may you…? ^^

(***A/N** : from now on, I think the genre will be mostly Drama and Family)

***Fairy**Tail***

**ONCE AGAIN, LIVE**

Rate : K+

Genre : Drama, Family, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Angst.

Mayor Chara : Gray Fullbuster

Pairing : a bit JuLy (*it's not like I like this pairing!—Love GraJu!)

Warning : OOC, Discontinue, many miss-spelling and grammar. However, Please read!

**DISCLAIMER,**

I do not own Fairy Tail characters. It belongs to Hiro Mashima. If I owned it, I would make Gray Fullbuster as the main character. I love that hottie one so much ^^v

Chapter 4. **Theories, Reincarnation**

"_I'm Gray… just Gray… maybe,"_

***Fairy**Tail***

"He isn't _that_ Gray! No way in the hell!" Lucy snapped and slammed the table where they were sitting.

"He is! He really looks like _him_, except his age!" Natsu snapped back and slammed the table as well.

It was almost in the middle of night, still on the same day. Team Natsu and Levy, Lisanna, Cana, Wendy and both Exceed sat on the same table. They were discussing about this new mysterious boy.

"Gu—… guys… sttt…!" Levy tried to shush them, however it was in vain.

"Nah! Gray was 19 and that boy is just around 5! That's the proof if he isn't _him_, Natsu! Please accept this fact that Gray has gone!" Lucy yelled, she had lost her patience.

"I smelt him, Luce! His is completely same with Popsicles'! Why don't you believe in me? Do you not expect him to be back? Or have you forgotten about him?" Natsus' eyes narrowed. This statement of him made Lucy stunned. Natsu was somehow too harsh. Even the other who heard their argument stared at Natsu in disbelief.

"Natsu!" Lisanna next to him warned. Natsu ignored her and everybody else's gaze toward him. He stared sharply to Lucy who stared back at him with wide eyes opened. Her bottom lip quivered.

"Natsu… I… there's no way I'll forget all about him! He's my precious nakama as well! I EVEN CONSIDER HIM AS MY OWN BROTHER!" she screamed and as everyone had expected, her tears began to stream down from the blondes' brown eyes. Now Natsu who stared at her with wide eyes opened.

"Lu… Lucy… I—… I'm so sorry, I…" Natsu stuttered but seemed like Lucy didn't hear him at all since she was busy covering her face and sobbing. Levy rubbed her back for soothing. The others indignantly stared at the Salamander. Even Erza gave her famous death glare, however, now she was too lazy to do something (*Lucky Natsu). Natsu started to feel uncomfortable.

"I… I just want you to not hanging your wish too highly. We all know that somehow… it's impossible for Gray to be back to us. He was died, Natsu! If you keep resisting like this…, you'll only make yourself fall harder in the future," Lucy said between her sob. Natsu could nothing but bowed his head down, muttering his sorry.

"Luckily you guys' shout didn't wake him up," Cana muttered then took another sip of her beer. They turned their head to see the sleeping boy. The boy who claimed his name was Gray slept on a couch in the corner of guild main room. After he told them about his name, they did nothing but froze at their spot. Until they heard his stomach growled. It would be funny if not because the tense atmosphere that hovering them. Some of Fairy Tail mages chuckled nervously as little-Grays' cheeks reddened.

(*FlashBack*)

"You're hungry?" Mirajane asked kindly. Little Gray nodded sheepishly. Mirajane chuckled and pulled Grays' hand so he could stand up. "Come on, Gray-chan, let's have some food," Seemed like it was only Mirajane who could deal with this unexpected moment calmly.

"Mira-chan…," Lucy called, she wanted to say something but she couldn't find the right words. Mirajane however understood her, "It doesn't matter who he is now, Lucy-chan. This boy is starving and what we have to do now is feed him," Mirajane said as pulled little Gray toward bar.

"Mira is right, for now, let him rest here. Looks like he hasn't eaten for some days," Makarov said then followed Mirajane. Little Gray just stared confusedly at those adults who was arguing thing he couldn't understand.

"Okay now…" Laxus mumbled and stepped toward bar as well.

"He is not _Gray_, right?" Lucy whispered to Erza who responded with a shrug.

After that they just stared at that mysterious boy named Gray eating at the bar. Many questions appeared in their head. Like, '_Who he is actually?_ _Why did he resemble Gray Fullbuster so much?'_ Or, '_He's so young, how could he come here alone and what's with that appearance?'._ And Natsu, the question that popped in his head was, '_Why this boy has the perfectly same scent as Ice Freak?'. _However they could nothing but watched that kid ate his meal until finally he fell asleep. This kid was pretty tired and weak.

(*End of FlashBack*)

After they relaxed from the tense atmosphere, after Lucy stopped crying and after the long silence, Lisanna nervously opened their conversation.

"So… um… you think, what's going out now?" she asked nervously.

"Hey, have you ever heard that in this world there are seven people that looked perfectly like you?" Levy stated. Lisanna, Carla and Cana lifted an eyebrow, "So, your point is?" they asked almost in unison.

Levys' eyes glinted with excitement as she told her theory, "Is it possible that that little Gray is actually another twin of our Gray?"

Cana and Lisanna exchanged glance, _'Myth, huh? That's kinda…'_

"Making sense, although it's almost impossible," Carla stated flatly for everyones' surprise. No one had ever expected that this Carla would like something such as myth. "What?" the white exceed frowned from their gaze.

"I even think if it's completely impossible," muttered the Titania. Lucy and Natsu had no comment, they just stayed quiet. Both still felt uneasy with their previous argument.

"If they're 'twin', then how come they have same name?" Happy stated supporting Erzas' opinion.

"Um… I also think that's impossible. And actually… I also smell it. That kids' smell is same as Gray-sans'. You know, even identical twin have different smell," Wendy said slowly. Natsu lifted his head and stared at the Sky Dragon Slayer in disbelief, so as the others.

"Really? You smelt the same? Why didn't you tell us earlier!" Natsu snapped furiously.

Wendy flinched and abruptly said her apology, "Go… gomennasai! I… I'm still unsure about what I found out, so…"

"Natsu, that's enough! Calm down," Erza demanded sharply. Natsu just let out a 'tck!' and cupped his cheek with elbow rest on the table.

"So, Wendy… what's with that smell thingy again?" Erza asked to the 17 years old Dragon Slayer (*remember, 5 years).

Wendy just shook her head hesitantly, "I also have no idea. But, it's so strange if 2 persons have the same scent. I'd never met something like this one before."

"I have another theory…" Levy stated making everyones' head turned to her again. "It's still categorizing in myth, but… what about 'reincarnation'?" she said.

"Reincarnation? You mean when dead people soul live in another body?" Lucy asked. She had read about that in one book she ever read when she was still a 'princess'. Levy nodded.

"I don't know either, Levy-chan," Lucy mumbled.

"If it's a myth, we cannot fully believe in it. It's somewhat nonsense, miraculous thing," Cana frowned. Hearing that, Levy smirked widely instead. She giggled, "Oh, Cana, do you miss something?"

"We live in a world full of magic, a magic world where anything miraculous is possible."

***Fairy**Tail***

Lucy and Natsu walked silently heading Lucys' apartment. Happy flew above them and little Gray was sleeping soundly in Natsus' embrace.

(*FlashBack*)

"I think we can postpone discussing about little Gray until tomorrow. When he's awake, we can ask him more." Mirajane came to their table. "Now, minna, where's little Gray will sleep for tonight?"

The latter group exchanged glance. "We?"

"Yeah, I think it's better if a girl who take care of little Gray. And since most of female Fairy Tail mages are here, then I'll just ask you," Mirajane smiled.

"I recommend Lucy," Cana stated immediately.

"ME?" Lucy shouted.

"Heck, yeah. Who else?" Cana said, shrugging lightly.

"How about you?" Lucy asked back to Cana.

Cana laughed, "Me? I have too many liquor bottles in my room, do you want this innocent little Gray tastes liquor in this age?"

"Then, Erza?"

"My room isn't big enough because I put armors of mine there," Erza said flatly.

_'Liar!_' Lucy protested mentally. _'Your room is bigger than me and don't you save your armors with your magic?'_. However Lucy knew if it would be useless to against or persuade the all mighty Titania.

"Levy-chan~?" Lucy whined to her blue-haired bestfriend. Levy sweatdropped,

"I can't, Lu-chan. My room is full of book," she excused. Lucy pouted.

"Ara, Lucy-chan, seems like you're the best candidate," Mirajane chuckled.

"Then what about you, Mira-san?" Lucy asked and pleaded (?) the barmaid.

Mirajane showed her angelic smiled, "Gomenna, Lucy-chan. But our house is too small," Lucys' shoulder dropped again. She looked around. Wendy? No, she had no experience to take care a little kid—it's not mean that Lucy was more experienced in it, but seemed like Wendy still unready with this thing. Other female mages? Oh no, they had gone home hours ago.

"Alright…" Lucy sighed finally, surrender. "I'll bring him home," Mirajane and the others smiled in triumphant.

"I'll come too," Natsu said suddenly.

(*End of FlashBack*)

It was so awkward. Lucy still felt uncomfortable with Natsu who yelled at her back at the guild. Since they walked out from guild, Natsu didn't say any single word. Happy also felt the tense between his both friends and could do nothing but stay silent.

_'Natsu is extremely silent today…'_ Happy thought sadly. Although once in a year—since five years ago—Natsu would be like this, but today was quite different. '_Is it because that new-comer kid?'_

"Luce, I'm so sorry…" their awkward silence was broken by Natsus' sudden apology.

"Sorry for what?" Lucy frowned and acted as if she had no single idea.

Natsu sighed, "For yelling at you back at guild. I've said mean things to you. I know you won't forget all about Ice-freak," Natsu bowed his head in embarrassment. Lucy smiled.

"Nah, it's okay… by the way Natsu, you still address _him_ by those stupid insult?" Lucy giggled, referring their dead Gray.

Natsu pouted, "Hey Luce, I'm trying to be serious here…!"

"Hehe… sure, sure…" Lucy laughed lightly. Then her gaze moved to little Gray in Natsus' embrace.

"What if… he really is our Grays' reincarnation?" Lucy asked slowly.

Natsu stared at her and then to the boy he held. His lips curved a smile. "It'll be good that we get that Snowman back,"

"Aye," Happy shouted happily and land onto Lucys' head, glad that tense atmosphere finally melted away. "And our guild will be noisy and fun again,"

Lucy smiled back. _'But, it's still impossible,'_ she thought as her gaze landed on little Gray again.

'_He's just a five years old kid, not our Gray' _

***Fairy**Tail***

Finally they arrived at Lucys' apartment. Natsu put little Gray down on Lucys' bed while Lucy looked for her smallest clothes for little Gray. He didn't wear his dirty cloak again but clothes under that cloak also as dirty as his cloak. Lucy found her old orange t-shirt, short sleeves with one white vertical line on its left side. Natsu and Happy watched silently from Lucys' couch as that blonde carefully began changing little Grays' shirt with hers'. Light was dim but Lucy could see something odd with this kids' skin. she looked closer and gasped in surprise knowing what was that.

"Na... Natsu..." Lucy stuttered calling her salmon-haired friend. A lazy yawn was heard behind her so she could tell if Natsu almost falling asleep.

"What's up?"

"Co... come here a minute and look at this..." Lucy demanded with slightly trembling voice.

Natsu lazily stood up from Lucys' comfortable couch (*Happy had fallen asleep there) then approached her bed to see what Lucy wanted him to see. His eyes widened at what he saw, teeth gritted.

"Wha-... what happen to his skin? Who did this?" he growled furiously. Little Grays' skin was white pale and smooth, but that skin had many old scars whether it was small or big. There were also some old bruises that left red or dark purple marks. On his back and on his abdomen, his shoulder, upper arms and some on his tight. Thanksfully he didn't have any on his face.

"A... abuse? Do you think Gray-chan was abused?" Lucy asked eerily as covered her mouth with her palms. Natsu just kept quiet, had no idea what should he says. Slowly he thouched those scars, examining it. When little Gray didn't give any signal that he felt the pain from that touch, Natsu sighed softly.

"I think it's okay. It's old wounds so I doubt he will feel any pain from it," Natsu explained. Lucy frown deepened.

"But... how he got... these?"

Natsu shook his head slowly, "As if I have the idea. No, I don't know. But it's nothing to worry about. These wounds won't bring any harm for him for now, I hope," with that he turned around and back to his previous couch when Happy'd fallen asleep.

"You should put some clothes on him or he will catch a cold," the Salamander said nonchalantly as lie down on the couch. Lucy obeyed it without saying anything then put her old shirt on little Grays' body. Carefully so she wouldn't touch those wounds too hardly. She also cleaned the boys' face with her towel. Now after that boys' face clear from any dirt or mud, he looked exactly same as their Gray. It was like as if Gray himself who slept on Lucys' bed. This thought made her heart ache.

"Well, time to sleep," Lucy whispered and turned around just to see Natsu and Happy had fallen asleep on her couch. Smiling, Lucy kindly covered Natsus' body and Happys' with a blanket.

"How rare of you who usually let me slept on my couch or mattress on my floor while you guys slept on my bed…" Lucy mumbled, half exasperatedly, half amused. She then walked to her bathroom and brushed her teeth, changed to her pajama before lie down next to little Gray.

"You resemble him, so much… no, you _perfectly_ resemble him," Lucy murmured as her fingers ran between little Grays' black strands, surprise knowing that hair was so soft, as if brushing sheet of black silk.

"But, you're not him, right? And... what's with those old wounds?" she muttered again then covered herself and the boy with her pink blanket.

"Well, whatever. I'll find it out later. Good night, Gray-chan, Natsu, Happy"

***Fairy**Tail***

"Lucy nee-chan… Lucy nee-chan…"

Lucy woke up by a soft voice called for her name and a finger poking her face. Lazily she hummed and opened her eyes just to see a blur figure stared at her. She blinked as last night event came across her mind.

"Yo—… I mean, Gray…?" she murmured, dumbfounded. Little Gray stared at her.

"Lucy nee-chan, can you release me now? I wanna go to pee…" little Gray whined. Lucy blinked again and noticed if she warped her hand tightly around Gray as if he was a pillow. Since when?

"Eek! So—… sorry, Gray-chan," Lucy abruptly got up and lifted her hands from Grays' tiny body. Gray instantly stood up and ran toward Lucys' bathroom without saying any word.

_'Wait? Without saying any words? Does he know where the toilet is?'_ Lucy heard her bathroom door crack opened and then closed.

_Yep, he knows exactly where the toilet is._ Hey! Wait!

_'How come he knew? And then… did he call me 'Lucy nee-chan'? Why did he know my name?'_

Lucy sat dumbfounded as those questions couldn't stop ringing within her head. After shook her head softly she scanned her room and found no one but her. Couch where Natsu and Happy were sleeping before was empty, just a sheet of blanket that lay there messily. Lucy sighed exasperatedly. Really, that Salamander of her was never able to be a bit tidier no matter how mature he was.

When Lucy was busy making her bed and her couch, she heard soft footsteps approached her. She turned around and saw little Gray walked to her shyly. Lucy was nervous and didn't know what to do since she hadn't used yet with this boys' face. However she managed to smile,

"Hey there, Gray-chan… slept well?"

Gray nodded silently as his reply. Lucy tried to be cheer as offering little Gray for breakfast which accepted enthusiastically by him. Lucy giggled mentally. This Gray was so easy to be hungry.

"Ah, Gray-chan…" Lucy began as she watched Gray adding strawberry jam onto his roast. Lucy giggled mentally again. This Gray liked strawberry as well. And when she mentioned 'as well', she was referring their Gray who also liked one*. Although he always denied it but Lucy often caught him consumed anything with strawberry, whether it was milkshake, ice cream or even jam. One cute side from that cool ice mage.

"Yeah, Lucy nee-chan?" Gray lifted his face and stared at Lucy with his childish-innocent onyx orb. Lucy had to hold her urge to hug and pinch that boys' cheeks.

"I just wonder… how could you know my name? We haven't had any talk last night, right?"

Little Gray grinned his toothy grin, "Because Lucy nee-chan is Lucy!" he told happily.

"Huh?" Lucy tilted her head confusedly.

"I cannot tell it well because I also have no idea about it, but… when I saw Lucy nee-chans' face clearly this morning I instantly recognize you as Lucy. I don't know why but I feel as if I've known you since long ago…" Gray explained cheerfully. Lucys' eyes widened.

"Then… then why you didn't recognize me last night?" Lucy asked again.

Little Gray scratched his back head sheepishly, "Sorry… I didn't see you so clearly last night. I was in panic and scare since suddenly many people surrounded me. And beside… I was hungry…" he stated. Lucy laughed and nodded in understanding, "Haha… I see…". Grays' face reddened.

"Eh… eh… guess what Lucy nee-chan!" Gray soon squealed excitedly, forgetting his embarrassment. Lucy giggled, "Yes, yes… what's that, Gray-chan?" seemed like Lucy started to enjoy this little Grays' presence.

"When I saw Lucy nee-chans' house I feel like I've known this place so well too, I felt like I miss this house" he told that made Lucy blushed a little. "It's so odd, ever since I arrived at this city I felt as if I'm going home after so long. I never came here before but I know this city as if I'd once lived here. Isn't it strange, Lucy nee-chan?"

Lucy could only stare at the little boy in front of her. She lost his words.

_As if he was going home, huh?_ It was surely strange.

_As if he had once lived here before? How if he really had lived here before?_ _In this city?_

_Which theory that apply this situation? Reincarnation? Reborn?_

"Gray-chan, can you tell me how old are you now?" Lucy asked. Gray grinned again,

"Since yesterday I'm 5 years old!"

The blond straightened and her face turned paler as she gained this new information. However little Gray didn't realize this since he was busy with his meal.

"Your birthday is yesterday and that is your 5th birthday…" Lucy stated, not asked. Little Gray responded it with a light shrug, "That's what I believe,"

"What do you mean?" Lucys' eyebrows furrowed.

"I don't have any memories before the last few months. What I remember is I was awake in an old hut. My name is Gray, just Gray. I remember something about being 5 years so I assumed it as my age. Then another info that flew in my head was the date of 6 October x791 and I think that was my date of birth. Then some miss feeling in my heart about city named Magnolia and Fairy Tail. That's why I decided to go here. I hope I could find something about my memories." told the little raven haired boy in glee. He was so oblivious with how serious the situation he had. Lucys' gaze turned blank.

_So this kid born at the same time as when Gray died. Perfectly same. _

_What does it mean? Could it be that when Gray died, his soul flew away and reborn as this little kid in front of me now? Levy-chans' theory has a right point here. _

_Reincarnation… reborn…_

"Lucy nee-chan?" Gray called. Lucy blinked then found little Gray stared at her in anxious.

"Are you okay?" he asked as stared at her with his puppy eyes. Lucy blinked again and how surprising because what she saw in front her wasn't a little boy. But the 19 years old Gray Fullbuster who stared back at her with his gorgeous grin plastered on his face. That face which she missed so much now was right in front of her eyes. Lucy felt her eyes stung from tears. She was about to cry.

"Lucy nee-chan? Why are you crying? Is there somewhere hurt?" little Grays' voice yelped in childish panic when seeing the blonds' tears. Lucy woke up from her so-called 'hallucination' and in her sight now was just a panic little Gray.

Lucy abruptly shook her head, wiped her tears and stood up. "I'm fine Gray-chan…" she patted the boys' head slowly then smiled widely. She thought she could figure out what was happening. If so then Natsus' words last night could be possible. They could have their ice mage comrade back although in the different form.

"How about I go take a bath first and change? After that you went to shower as well, I'll search clean clothes for you. Then we head to guild and let's ask everyone to celebrate your birthday. Ah, before we heading guild, let's buy some clothes for you and your present, okay?" Lucy grinned seeing the boy jumped in joy for Lucys' offer.

"Uwaa! Thank you Lucy nee-chan! But, don't bother to hold a party" little Gray squealed happily then suddenly threw his little arms around Lucys' neck. The blond girl yelped in surprised but then she relaxed and softly hugged the boy back.

"No problem, Gray-chan. Happy Birthday…"

***Fairy**Tail***

Well, as you see, I edited this chapter a bit. About those wounds that I think will be eseful for the next chapter.

(*I don't know if Gray really likes strawberry, but I think it will be cute if a guy as hot, tough and cool like him—I'm Grays' fans, so no wonder if I praise him that much, ne?—likes something sweet like strawberry ^^v )

Wew… finally I finish this chapter. I don't think this one is good enough since I found some lack here. Natsu was OOC don't you think? And I got difficulties in making dialog for Happy. And little Gray sound more mature than a five years old boy. I cannot dig or describe characters' feeling so well due to obstacles in language which I have too little vocab so, like or not, I have to use the same word over and over again, sorry for that ^^'

Well, just hope you still enjoy it. Let me know your opinion about this chapter by giving me review, 'kay? Remember, I even receive anonymous and flame. Spill it all out ^^/

Sayonara~~~

Reviews are (really) Acceptable


	5. Chapter 5 Explanation, Fact

Sorryyy…. For the late update DX I got many problems with this chapter… *cough* writers' block *cough* the acute one *cough*. But heck, hehehe… in the end I manage to finish it off though it isn't too good and satisfying for me… **¬_¬**

Like usual, I'd like to reply some reviews (*when I said 'some' I meant 'ALL' ^^v) from previous chapter. I've said it before that I'm too lazy to reply it via PM so pardon me if that's inappropriate (_ _) *bow.

**Rewinsan** : Hehe… gak papa kok lw mau teriak sekencang apapun disini karena udah disiapin penyumbat telinga neeh… (*megang kotak kapas ukuran jumbo) Aww… Lucy and Natsu as parent, huh? I also find it sweet ^^ Ah… talk about dolls, I suddenly wanted Juvias' plush doll of Gray CX and I'm happy you like this Gray-chan but so sorry for the late update since I got headache (*because of this annoying writes' block though TT') I hope you like this chapter too and let me know your opinion by giving review, 'kay…? ^^

**Micky Moon** : Thanks so much for the advice, Micky-san… CX (*you don't mind I call you that way, right?) from now on I'll try my best to make it even better, but still… step by step ^^a. Happy you like it and here's the next chapter… sorry for the late by the way… =9

**CrazyFool65** : Yea! I got another person who cried from my story, khehehe…. X9 Thank you for the review… and you don't need to wait any longer, here's the 5th chapter… RnR, may you? ^^b

**Emil C** : I'm so sorry for that, I'll try… really try my best to fix that X{. Nah… that's okay… Thanks for your review anyway… =D

**123** : Glad you like it, thanks for the review… ^^ Yup, here's the next chapter…

**Laila Yagami** : Hi there… It's relievable if it isn't too late to edit that chapter. Ah, about those wounds I guess you'll find it out in this chapter ^^ Happy you like this Gray-chan and please enjoy reading this new chapter, RnR…! ^^v (*btw, you cannot complain to me about grammar since I'm not good in it myself X9)

**Bea-Fullbuster** : Yiipiee… another victim that cried from my story… XD Here's the next chapter… RnR, can you? ;) I'll have more courage to continue if I have more reviews that supporting me CX

**Yin005** : Yeah! Gray is so damn hot when he's an adult and cute when he's little. I just love him so much…! CX Yes, yes~~… I update. Here's the next chapter~~ _Chapter 5. Explanation, Fact_! Please enjoy and review… ^^

**MitsuiKoi **: Welcome back… and sorry for scaring you off… tee hee… XD Aww… you did guessing mostly of my plot and one or two of your questions will be answered in this chapter and in the next one, while the rest… I've imagined it in my mind but I still don't know in which chapter it will appear, so wait, read and enjoy… 'kay? Then gimme review… ^,^ anyway… thanks for everything… it helps me a lot… CX

***Fairy**Tail***

**ONCE AGAIN, LIVE**

Rate : K+

Genre : Drama, Family, Hurt/Comfort, Friendship

Mayor Chara : Gray Fullbuster

Pairing : a bit JuLy (*it's not like I like this pairing!—Love GraJu!)

Warning : OOC, Discontinue (*since this author has some problems with confidence), many miss-spelling and grammar. However, Please read!

**DISCLAIMER,**

I do not own Fairy Tail characters. It belongs to Hiro Mashima. If I owned it, I would make Gray Fullbuster as the main character. I love that hottie one so much ^^v

Chapter 5. **Explanation, Fact**

…_this kid born at the same time as when Gray died…_

***Fairy**Tail***

Fairy Tail guild was as noisy as usual, so as today. But all of a sudden those noises were off when two certain figures entered the building. They were a blonde celestial spirit mage and a boy with raven messy hair and face that was similar with someone I've mentioned so many times.

Lucy walked in with her usual cheer smile while little Gray followed behind her hesitantly and took brief glance to everyones' gaze at him. It was so uncomfortable. But Lucy didn't realize her 'new little brother's' uneasiness as they walked toward counter. Yes, Lucy had decided if it would be fun if this little Gray became her little brother, since long ago she always expected a presence of sibling.

"Ohayou, Mira-san, Erza…!" Lucy greeted the snow-haired barmaid and Fairy Tails' Titania as both new comers reached the bar. Little Gray just sheepishly stared at Mirajane and Erza then gave them slight nod as his greet. Erza nodded stiffly to them and her gaze hardened when she saw little Gray that made the poor boy jumped aside to hide behind his 'Lucy nee-chan'.

"Erza nee-chan is as scary as usual…" Gray murmured slowly so it was just Lucy who could hear him. Lucy was startled at first but a sigh of understanding escaped from her lips. She patted little Grays' head to calm him down.

'_So he knows Erza as well? I guess he'll be able to recognize everyone in this guild too,'_

"Morning, Lucy-chan. Hi there, Gray-chan…" Mirajane smiled gently to little Gray who suddenly stuttered when saying his, "Hello too,"

"Wow, Lucy-chan you've done shopping this early?" Mirajane pointed at Lucys' shop bags on the floor beside the owner. Lucy grinned and put those bags on the counter. "Tee hee…, I have to Mira-san. They're Gray-chans' new clothes and some are mine though. Then I also have present for Gray-chan…" Lucy winked to Gray who winked back and grinned at her.

"I see…" Mirajane said as peeked into those colorful shopping bag and saw a glimpse of new shirt, short, jacket and other clothes for little boy. Until other info registered into her mind,

"…err, wait, present?"

"Gray-chans' birthday was yesterday, Mira-san. And it was his fifth birthday. So I have to give him present, no?" Lucy grinned then patted Grays' head who had sat on bar stool next to Lucy while she herself sat down beside Erza.

Mirajane gasped, so as other mages in guild who happened hearing their conversation. Even Erza stopped sipping her tea and looked at Lucy and then moved to little Gray with disbelief look. Gray twitched due to that sudden action. Lucy who noticed this silently threw a please-guys-keep-your-cool look to everyone in guild who responded with understanding nod or a soft cough then continued their previous activity. Trying to Ignore those certain people in bar. (*but heck, yeah, they still trying to gain more information from that conversation by eave-dropping them).

"Wait, Lucy-chan, if _his_ birthday was yesterday, it's same as our Grays'—…" Mirajane whispered to Lucy but the celestial mage interrupted her by whispered back,

"I know Mira-san. I've also known who he is actually, though it's just a hunch. But can we act as if it's… nothing? Seemed like he doesn't know who he is actually. Or… whether he is been _possessing_ by whom."

Mirajane gulped but nodded. They moved their gaze toward little Gray who was busy playing with his new jacket zip. A dark-blue colored jacket with white fur on edge of its hood and some pins on its left chest. The barmaid put on her genuine smile before asking the little boy.

"Hey, Gray-chan, Happy Birthday anyway… now Mira nee-chan will treat you as your birthday present. So, what do you want to drink or eat? You can ask anything," she said that gained a happy squeal from little Gray.

"Really, Mira nee-chan? Thank you!"

Mirajane giggled, "You're welcome, Gray-chan… now, can I take your order, _mister_?" she winked.

Gray hummed and thought in his adult-style. Lucy and Mirajane chuckled seeing how this little boy acted like an adult. It was somewhat cute.

"If you don't mind Mira nee-chan, I want shaved ice with milk and strawberry syrup then strawberry milkshake. Please add soooo many ice in both!"

"Are you sure, Gray-chan? The weather is cold and is it okay if you eat that big amount of ice?" Mirajane tilted her head.

Gray replied it with a pout, "You said I can order anything I want…"

Mirajane looked meaningfully at Lucy who nodded, signaling that she understood what Mira meant.

'_Yeah, this Gray also likes ice so much'_

"Alright, Gray-chan. Let me make your order first. Be patience, okay?" Mirajane briefly patted the boys' head then walked into kitchen.

After Mirajane gone, Lucy scanned the guild to find a certain person. The salmon-haired dragon slayer and his flying cat but in no avail. They were nowhere in that guild.

'_Where are they?'_ Lucy wondered. _'Back to their home? Take breakfast in other restaurant or… to _his_ grave like usual?'_

"If you're looking for Natsu, he isn't here yet," Erza stated slowly as if she could hear that blondes' mind.

"Eh…" Lucy snapped up. "Yeah… I see… of course,"

For the next minutes both women didn't say any single word. Both were busy with their own thought. Lucy was wondering about Natsu and sometimes about her next novel while Erza was considering what to say or what to ask about certain thing—little Gray. Gray himself was busy playing with his new necklace, admiring it. A silver necklace with a silver snowflake as the pendant and that snowflake was put in the centre of another pendant—which was bigger—shaped like cross… or maybe sword that made from the same material. It was his birthday present from Lucy. He saw it in a shop when they were doing their morning-shopping. Did not know why but he instantly fell in love with that necklace. Lucy was also startled little Gray chose that as his present while she thought that a boy like him would prefer toy than some kind of accessories like that. She even had decided to give him a cute snow globe she saw in a toy store. Lucy couldn't help but feel a pang in her chest when seeing little Gray pleaded for that necklace and wore it around his neck. For Lucy, it was so… Gray.

"So tell me, Lucy," Erza demanded to Lucy.

"What do you know about this Gray… chan?" Erza lowered her voice so little Gray couldn't hear her.

Lucy exhaled, "Not now, Erza. I'll tell you when Gray-chan isn't… around,"

"Why not?" Erza asked exasperatedly. Lucy threw a brief glance to little Gray who was still playing his new necklace.

"I think it's better if he didn't know about this matter for now,"

The scarlet hair girl opened her mouth to say something but then she closed it and gave her blonde friend an understanding nod.

"Here're your orders, Gray-chan… a strawberry milk shaved ice and a strawberry milkshake with extra ice," Mirajane shouted cheerily with Grays' order which he accepted it with a 'Yeay!' then attacked his.

They just watched Gray enjoyed his ice in silent and with smile in their faces. Until a light glowed beside Lucy, revealing her Lion spirit, Leo the Lion or Loke.

"Lucy, Crux told me that—…" Loke said quickly ignoring his masters' surprise but then his word cut off when his gaze landed on little Gray next to Lucy. His jaw dropped open.

"G—… Gray…?" Loke stuttered.

Little Gray who heard someone stating his name turned around to see Loke. Then suddenly his smile widened,

"Loke!" he yelled in glee. Everyones' eyes—who heard this—widened except for the certain blonde mage who had expected this moment.

"Yo—… you know my name?" the Leo spirit stuttered.

Little Gray grinned widely, "You're Loke!"

Loke stared at little Gray in disbelief while the latter himself turned back to his half-eaten ice shaved.

"He's not Gray, right?" Loke murmured to his master.

Lucy sighed before answered, "Yes and not… I'll explain it later,"

On the same time, guild door burst open and there stood Natsu and Happy. Natsu yelled his, "Good morning" and Happy added by shouted his usual, "Aye!" They saw Lucy and without wasting any time they approached him. But then Natsu saw little Gray that made him froze at his spot. He was still unused with this new-comer kid. On the contrary, Gray who noticed the presence of that Fire Dragon Slayer narrowed his eyes as if he was annoyed my something then charged toward Natsu.

"Gray Kick!"

His strength was nothing for Natsu but his surprise could make him lost his balance and fell bottom-first onto the floor. They stared at that moment dumbfounded, include Natsu, confusion looked clearly from his face. Gray had kicked Natsu by his stomach.

"Wha—… what are you doing, brat?" the salmon-haired man protested but the latter boy just let out an exasperated huff, not bothering to give his answer.

"Gray-chan why did you kick Natsu all of a sudden?" Lucy abruptly stood up and held little Gray who seemed like would launch another attack toward that poor Dragon Slayer. Gray once again pouted and turned his head from Natsu.

"Nah, I just feel that he's annoying."

Lucy blinked so as other people who witnessed that moment. In no time Lucy burst to laugh.

"Ahahaha… I see… how stupid of me for forgetting that…" she said between her laugh that gained confuse and curious from everyone.

Natsu lifted an eyebrow, "Hey, Luce, what're you talking about?"

Lucy, still giggling, waved her hand to Natsu, "Later," she winked, gaining more confusion from everyone. Lucy then moved her attention to little Gray she hugged.

"So, Gray-chan, have you finished your drinks?" she asked and little Gray nodded as his reply.

"Good then… Ah, Asuka-chan, Romeo and Wendy if you don't mind," Lucy called for Alzacks' and Biscas' daughter, the son of fourth (*cough*) master (*cough*) and the Sky Dragon Slayer who were happened sitting on the same table. Those latter pointed themselves absentmindedly, made sure that they didn't miss-hearing. Lucy nodded to tell that she was really calling for them and asked them to come closer.

"Do you mind to play with Gray-chan for a minute?" Lucy asked and demanded at the same time. Asuka and Wendy obediently nodded but Romeo let out a protested growl.

"I'm not a babysitter! And beside I also want to know what you'll be talking about," he pouted. Lucy kept putting her angelic (?) smile however her devil aura were starting to creep out from her.

"Err… did you say something, Romeo?" she asked with her sweetest smile but everyone knew that there was devil inside. It made them all shuddered—well, except some of them who had no eerie feeling toward this blonde mage like Erza, Mirajane and the innocent little Gray.

"N—… no no no at all, no objection! Of course I'll accompany him during your private talk. Come on, Gray-chan, let's play with Romeo nii and Asuka nee and Wendy nee" Romeo abruptly grabbed little Grays' hand then dragged him outside followed by Asuka and Wendy. Gray gave Lucy a worried glance but Lucy gave him her smile and nod, supporting. Gray could only follow this Romeo nii.

"Lucy-san, you better telling me everything after this," Wendy said before she went to chase Romeo and little Gray. Frowning slightly since actually she also wanted to join their Romeo-called 'private talk'.

After those 'kids' (*I know Romeo and Wendy cannot be classified as 'kids', however… (*shrug) let it be this time, 'kay?) disappeared from guild main door, another group of Fairy Tail mages approached Lucy and other.

"He really resembles that Ice head so much. I cannot believe in it at first when this shorty told me last night," Gajeel muttered as staring the way little Gray and his new 'brother' and 'sister' went.

Erza shifted her sitting position so she could face the new group that surrounded them. (*Well, actually they were surrounding Lucy, but since she was sitting beside Erza, this scarlet head got surrounded as well).

"So, Lucy, now can you explain us what you know?" Titania asked with her usual demanding tone. Lucy rubbed her temple with her index finger as if considering the way she should start explaining.

"I think… I have to say that Levy-chans' theory about being reincarnated has its right point," Lucy started that gained frown from the others.

"Really?"

***Fairy**Tail***

"Gray-chan lost his own memories…?" Mirajane gasped. Lucy nodded.

"That's what he said. He just remembers name of Gray and the date of Grays' death. And then about this guild and this city," Lucy glanced at every single person there who were curious about Lucys' information. Team Natsu, trio Take-Over mages, Shadow Gear team plus Gajeel, the Card mage—Cana and also both sixth master (Makarov) and seventh master (Laxus) who arrived at guild some minutes after Gray and his new 'friends' went. And then three exceeds were there as well.

"So the point is, he—I mean, little Gray—knows everything that our Gray knew?" Erza appointed.

"He has our Grays' memories, it's easier that way," Levy corrected. She bit her finger as she fell into deep thought.

"And why he has it is because he's dead Gray who was reborn?" Carla asked, frowning.

"It explains why he has the same scent as Popsicle!" Natsu said, slightly excited.

"And also why he has same sense and like as our Gray," Lucy added a bit serious.

"Aye! So this little Gray is Gray himself?" Happy squealed that followed by enthusiasm nod from mostly of them. But Lucys' and Lokes' frown deeper, they felt like something… miss-calculated. Laxus and Erza gave Makarov their question look that was replied by shaking his head in disagreement. Lucy had told them everything she and little Gray talked about that morning. And now they were discussing it around the bar.

"Hem, matte yo, my children," Makarov coughed and fixed his position on the counter into the more comfortable one. "Although this little boy is a reincarnation of Gray, it doesn't mean that he is Gray himself,"

Their chatter at once stopped after Makarov said that. Disappointment appeared in each faces, which once was cheerful expression full of hope turned into frowned. Natsu growled,

"Jii-chan! Why did you say that he's not Gray? Reincarnation is when someone dead is reborn, right? So automatically that little boy is him—Popsicle."

"No, Natsu," Loke stated as rubbed his bridge with both thumb and index finger.

"Gray Fullbuster is his past life, now he is mere a little boy who has new life waiting for him forward,"

His audiences' jaw dropped down. Loke just gave them his small-sympathy smile while Makarov nodded, agreeing Lokes' statement.

"I hate to make you disappointed my children, but you have to learn that Gray Fullbuster is gone for eternity. Even if he is reincarnated, but still, he isn't Gray. He is just a poor little kid who happened to be so similar with him." Makarov stated full of wisdom. His 'children' bowed their head sadly. Once again, their hope gone.

Natsu gritted his teeth then slammed nearby table as hard as he could for everyones' surprise.

"Natsu—…" Erza snapped and even be ready to land a punch on that Dragon Slayers' head. But she was stopped by Laxus who quietly stretched his hand, telling the Titania to stop. While Natsu, without wasting any time nor without saying any single word, walked away to leave that room.

"Let him go, he just unready to accept this fact. Leave him alone is the best way for now," Laxus mumbled slowly. Erza stared at Laxus as if didn't agree his way then her gaze move to the depressed Salamander. Sighing deeply, she relaxed and nodded.

"Okay,"

"Ah…, before you go farther and cannot hear me, Natsu, I'll tell—no, I request one more thing from you…" Makarov said right before Natsu touched the handle of guild front door. Natsu flinched but he still stopped, listening.

"Please treat that little boy normally. He is just an innocent and poor boy who has no idea what is happen around him now. Don't treat him as if he's a replacement of Gray,"

Natsu didn't say any word either make any single movement. He just froze there for some minutes before harshly opened the door and walked away, vanished from their sight.

"Natsu…" Happy whined softly but he didn't move to chase his master. Makarov once again sighed.

"Well, Lucy…" After long silence Makarov turned to face the celestial mage now. "Do you know why he—that little boy come to this city in the first place?"

Lucy softly shook her head, "Sorry master, I don't. But I think he comes here just because this is the first place in his mind. I'd said it, no? That he lost his memories?"

"Yeah… of course…" Makarov mumbled to no one. "Do you think this boy has every detail of Grays' old memories?"

Lucy exchanged glance with Loke or Levy, asking their opinion but she just received a shrug from both of them.

"I don't think so, Master. If so… then… Gray-chan will be able to recognize us even better and maybe… he will act like our dead-Gray despite he's just a 5 years old boy," Lucy answered hesitantly.

"I see…" was Makarovs' reply.

"Err… I'm just wondering, why Gray has to be reincarnated in the first place? Doesn't dead people soul go straight to—I don't know—heaven? Hell?" Lisanna asked.

"Or Edolas in your case," Cana smirked. Lisanna nudged her slightly and chuckled.

"That's not funny Cana," and everyone chuckled as well. Thanks to that now their tense atmosphere melted bit by bit.

"Yeah, I also wonder about that," Gajeel stated. Levy grinned and gave Lucy a meaningful gaze although the latter couldn't get what that solid-script mage meant.

"Aww… come on Lu-chan… I'm talking about novel, when soul of dead people cannot go to heaven since they have something important to do in earth first." Levy explained. Lucy clapped her hands and her eyes glinted with excitement.

"Oh! So you want to say that Gray is unready to go yet for certain reason?"

"Indeed,"

"But what?" Erza asked.

"There, there… no need to think about it now. Sooner or later we'll find his reason," Makarov said.

"Ano, one more thing, Master…" Lucy quickly spoke. "…actually last night I found something… shocking from him…"

Lucy hesitantly opened her mouth. Instead, she played with her fingers, thinking.

"What, Lucy? Speak up?" Laxus half-demanded impatiently. Lucy gulped.

"I found Gray-chan has so many wound in his body. As if… he was abused…"

All of them gasped or eyes widened for that shocking news.

"Th—… that's just old wounds and it doesn't harm his body again… or so what Natsu said last night. However… I feel that I need to tell you," Lucy quickly added.

"What kind of wounds he got?" Loke asked.

"Just some small scars and bruises."

"Could it be… that's old wound from dead-Gray? I mean… when that bastard killed him!" Erza asked and gritted her teeth in the last 4 words. Lucy instantly shook her head.

"I think it's not, Erza. If Gray-chan really brings those old wounds of our Grays', then the position and shape of those wounds will be exactly same, right? But these… Gray-chan doesn't have long scar across his chest which made our Gray… which made him… died." Lucy lowered her gaze, mourn attacked her again but she still insist to continue.

"And then… Gray-chan also doesn't have that little scar on his temple from his fight with Lyon at Galuna Island long ago"

"So you want to say that this boy got abuse instead?" Laxus raised an eyebrow which Lucy replied with a nod.

"Good, now what, old man?" Laxus growled exasperatedly. _How could this little brat bring so many problems with him?_

Makarov, for the umpteenth times, sighed, "It doesn't matter now what happened to him in his past. Let the past pass. At least now, he's save from any harm. We'll obviously protect him until he's ready to take care of himself."

Erza blinked as realizing what Makarov just said, "Master… so you think of…"

Makarov grinned, "Please call that boy, and ask him whether he wants to join Fairy Tail or not,"

***Fairy**Tail***

Once again, so sorry for being late in publishing this chapter. I felt like not my self lately. This chapter is extremely hard to write! At first I tried to explain about that reincarnation thingy so detailed. But in the end it became too long and somewhat too complicated. So I rewrite it again, again and again (*as I can remember, I'd written it for about 5 times already—but it always ended up deleting) and made me got headache. Finally I decided to write it this way instead. I hope you can get what I write here. And honestly, I'm not satisfied enough with this chapter. (*sigh)

Btw, until now I still cannot get why Erza was called Titania. Actually, what's the meaning of 'Titania' exactly? (*I know it's embarrassing for not knowing this thing /')

Well… now I want to know your opinion. Review please? Just spill all of your thought out, whether it's about my spelling and grammar, story, plot, characters, advice, suggestion… anything! Even flames are accepted ^^


	6. Chapter 6 Avoided, Ice Master

Well there… it's a real, real, real LATE update, huh? I'm so sorry for that! XC I have some reasons and *ahem* excuses *ahem*. I warn you first, this chapter… I ain't confident enough with this and it's longer that before. So I want to apologize first… for everything! XC

Ah, it's my favorite, lemme reply all reviews I got from last chapter. Hmm… I got 6 new reviews…

Actually I waited until I got 2 more reviews so I'll have 30 reviews from all chapter I've published but it's impossible. I still cannot get those 2 more reviews… (*sigh… ==') Hmph, cut the crap, ok? Here's the reviews… thanks so so so soooooooo much anyway… (*wink~) XD

**Yin006** : Hehehe… thanks for your review… And here's the next chapter, sorry for making you wait too long ^^' Btw, I'm sorry but little Grays' past doesn't be recovered in this chapter yet XC You have to be more patient, sorry… And I want to say sorry too if later on you think this chapter is rambling DX But please RnR, okay? Keep enjoying it~~~ ^^v

**Rewinsan **: Hahaha… kalau Gray jadi hantu bagus juga tuh… ehehe… Tapi Gray-nya direinkarnasi aja deh… ^^ I'm glad you understand my lack knowledge of Reincarnation thingy. It's so damn complicated! XC Eh, yang mati trus hidup lagi itu 'Mati Suri', kan? Hii… biarpun dia nggak jadi mati, tapi tetap aja serem (*shiver) Any reviews are appreciated! Jadi jangan segan nulis apa aja… (*tapi jangan terlalu 'bebas' juga, bisa bahaya, tee hee… =9 ) Here's the next chapter, forgive me for the late. But keep RnR, okay? ^^

**Bea-Fullbuster** : Ah… Grays' 'mission' is still keeping in secret~~…. Ehehe… Thanks for the review… I hope you can enjoy this chapter as well although it has some lack here and there, but please… RnR… ^.^

**Laila Yagami** : I even think it's complicated, sometimes I cannot understand the way my head thinking… sigh… =,= Hey, you're drooling…! XD Oh… Titanio… metal… it's making sense. Thanks for your information anyway… It somewhat helps me ^^v Aha~… Gray reason? It's still a S-E-C-R-E-T, hehehe… Arigatou for the review, this chapter, RnR too, ok? CX

**Spring Breeze** : I'm happy you like it CX Ah, so Titania is from Shakespeare… thanks for your information, you killed my curiosity =9 'Beta Reader'… I wonder who can help me with that. I guess I have to make announcement, no? X) Aww… thank you for the compliment… being rare is somewhat awesome for me… khihihi… X] Once again, thank you for everything. I wish you like this chapter too… RnR, don't forget, okay…? ^^/

**MitsuKoi **: Hehe… I'm not that much… Actually I'll publish one chapter once I'd finished half of the next chapter. However… in this chapter is kinda different. You'll find it out later ^^ Yeah, that chapter is oh-my-God so hard! I'm saving those 'long-explanations' still, haven't deleted it yet (*btw, what's the point telling this? LoL ) Oh… don't worry… your review is more that enough for me… ^^ Thanks for the review… This chapter, keep RnR, 'kay…? \^^/

(***A/N** : I want to try Beta Reader but I almost know nothing about it. I even have no idea whether my story is worth to be Beta Reading or not. So if you're interest in helping me, please PM me and please explain every last details I have to know about this Beta Reader things and everything I have to do via PM, thanks… Ciaosu~~~…)

***Fairy**Tail***

**ONCE AGAIN, LIVE**

Rate : K+

Genre : Drama, Family, Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Supernatural

Mayor Chara : Gray Fullbuster

Pairing : a bit JuLy (*it's not like I like this pairing!—Love GraJu!)

Warning : OOC, Discontinue (*since this author has some problems with confidence), many miss-spelling and grammar. However, Please read!

**DISCLAIMER,**

I do not own Fairy Tail characters. It belongs to Hiro Mashima. If I owned it, I would make Gray Fullbuster as the main character. I love that hottie one so much ^^v

Chapter 6. **Avoided, Ice Master**

…_Don't treat him as if he's a replacement of Gray…_

***Fairy**Tail***

"Of course I want to!" little Gray almost jumped from his excitement. They had called him back and Makarov offered him to join Fairy Tail.

"But before that, old man…" Laxus interrupted, he turned to that little new boy. "Gray, right? Can you use magic?"

Gray tilted his head as grinning widely, "During my journey here, I've learn one or two tricks" He then half-jumped half-walked backward to take enough gap from everyone.

"Let's make a bet. 3000 Jewel. I'm sure he uses the same magic as Grays'," Cana whispered to Elfman who was next to her. Elfman grumbled but then nodded.

"A man won't run from a bet," he whispered back, accepting Canas' challenge.

Gray stopped walking after few meters away from them. As giving a smirk, little Gray made a stance that everyone there knew completely. Their eyes widened again.

"Ice Make: Lance!" he shouted then some solid ices shaped like spear appeared from blue magic cycle of little Grays'. Those ice spears hit a table which had been aimed by the caster, made it broke into pieces.

"I'll give that 3000 Jewel later…" Elfman mumbled, still staring at the table which became Grays' victim before in awe. Cana smirked.

Little Gray with high enthusiasm and wide grin on his face moved his gaze from the table he destroyed to a bunch of adults in front of him. He just found them staring at the broken-into-pieces table in shock and awe and with every kind of surprise expression you can imagine. He misunderstood it by thinking that those shock expression of the adults was because he had destroyed one of their properties. It made this little boy stuttered nervously,

"I… I'm terribly sorry… I didn't mean to destroy that thing! Actually I… I just wanted to leave a scratch. However… well…, it seems I over did it… I'm sorry…!"

"Son, who did taught you that magic?" Makarov asked as calm as he could. Gray blinked then nervously mumbled, "No… none. Just… this technique always popped in my head all of a sudden. Then… then one day I tried to do it for real. It's surprisingly kinda easy for me…"

Then they just stared at him, losing their words. Little Gray flinched under their gaze and that tense silence. So he just bowed his head down. Until Laxus coughed, melting the silence.

"Are you only able to make those lances?" he asked. Gray lifted his head and shook it.

"No, I can make a shield too… does Laxus-nii want to see it?" little Gray asked, back to his cheerful self. Laxus briefly nodded.

Gray once again made that stance, "Ice Make: Shield!" And a familiar ice shield appeared. It wasn't too big but big enough to cover whole body of its caster, protecting him.

"Gramps, what do you think?" Laxus whispered to Makarov while little Gray was busy panting in front of them. Casting magic two times in row wasted much of his stamina it seemed. Wendy and Lucy walked to him, asking whether he was okay. Little Gray nodded and offered a smile to say he was fine.

"Well, what do you think?" Makarov asked back, grinning. Laxus rolled his eyes, exasperated for his grandpa threw the question back. However he answered,

"He has a great magic, if he train it a bit more, he surely will be able to be as good as Gray Fullbuster,"

Makarov hummed, "Nah, he even will be able to surpass Gray. For now he's just a five years old so no wonder if he only able to do that much." Makarov stood up and jumped onto the floor. Right at that time, Grays' shield broke into pieces for everyones' surprise. But Laxus just mumbled to his grandpa.

"His shield only stands for about three minutes,"

Makarov snickered, "He's a five years old boy, remember? Now master…" he winked. "…is he accepted to be a Fairy Tail mage?"

Laxus leaned on the counter, thinking. _This kid can use magic, however, it isn't perfect yet, he still need more practice. But we can't deny if he can use magic which is a condition to join Fairy Tail. He even can be a good asset for this guild. Hm…,_

"So how, Laxus?" Makarov asked, interrupting Laxuss' thought. As he lifted his head he noticed if everyones' attention were on him, include little Gray. They were waiting for his decision.

"Oh, well…" he cleared his throat. "…we obviously accept him—…" he heard Grays' happy squeal and Lucy and Wendy congratulated him. "But…" he added kinda loud to gain their attention again.

"…you're not allowed to take any mission yet. Your duty here, in Fairy Tail, is just to learn more about your magic. When I feel like your magic is enough to be brought into a real fight, then, I'll give the allowance to take a mission and add your duty to help Fairy Tail," he declared.

Gray stared at him in awe, so as the other. Makarov let out a proud hum. Laxus raised an eyebrow that said, 'What? Never saw me in this wise state?'

"Any objection?" he asked. Spontaneously they shook their head.

"Good. Now, Gray-boy, ask Mira for your Fairy Tail mark." he demanded.

***Fairy**Tail***

Fairy Tail guild was back to its peace afternoon moment. Yeah, it was quiet calm, no bickering, no fighting… they just calmly sat on their table, enjoying their drink and chattering. Even the new boy named Gray who was still saving so many mysteries with him didn't bother them anymore. Except for some certain people who was still giving their concern toward that little boy.

"It doesn't hurt anymore, nee-chan! I swear!" little Gray protested as the certain Sky Dragon Slayer examined his wounds, caressing it at some certain places.

"I know Gray-chan…" Wendy lifted her face briefly to give that pouting little boy a friendly smile. "Wendy-nee just want to know the cause of these wounds, okay?"

Gray pouted but could not say much. It was almost half an hour he sat stiffly on one of beds inside Fairy Tail infirmary room. Right when Mira would give him his marked, everyone saw his wounds Lucy mentioned before. Their reaction were like—as you're able to guess maybe—surprise with a bit of anger and urge to kill anyone who had done that inappropriate thing to a poor little kid. Even ex-master Makarov barely shook for anger. However the wounds owner himself didn't realize their sudden-change emotion so he just gave them his childish confused look.

Instantly Gray was bombardier by many questions about his wounds. It was such a horrible wounds for a five year old little boy. But Gray said that he didn't know anything about those wounds. How he got it, who gave him it or since when he had those. He kept put his smile on while telling them his unknowledge about something that could be so fatal. As if it was nothing for him. Instead, he was so confused about how the adults' reacted seeing those. In the end, Laxus asked Wendy who was more capable in healing to check Grays' wounds.

So they were ending here, inside the small yet clean infirmary room with pouting little Gray who was topless because Wendy wanted to check his body. Lucy was there as well, accompanying Gray. She watched Wendy worked but then her gaze kept landing on Grays' new Fairy Tail mark. It was placed on his right chest, right where Gray Fullbuster put his own mark. On top of that it was happened have the same color as well, dark blue. The shirtless little Gray with the same mark and not to mention how his new silver necklace hung down from his neck. It was perfect. Perfectly like mini-Gray Fullbuster.

Lucy lowered her gaze in sadness. She started to wonder. Was this little Gray bring them happiness or instead a new sadness? Gray made them felt the presence of that tough ice mage once again, although it was physically only. But, on the other hand he also made them remember about the fact that real Gray wasn't with them anymore. This boy was just a little kid who was believed as the reincarnation of Gray Fullbuster. But, reincarnation and its true self have a big different, no? Despite it was so hard to be told by words. He made them remember about the failure they made back then, about their failure to protect their nakamas' live.

"…cy… Lucy-san…" Wendys' call snapped the daydreaming blonde back. She looked around and saw Wendy had finished checking Gray who now was putting his clothes on. The young Dragon Slayer gave her anxious look.

"O—… oh… Wendy-chan, sorry… was I daydreaming? Ehehe…" Lucy nervously scratched her blond head while her lips played a nervous smirk. Wendy let out her sympathy sigh.

"I just said that Gray-chans' wounds is nothing to be worrying for. You're right. It's just old wounds and won't give any harm to his body." Wendy threw a look to Gray who gave her a smile as if said, 'See, what I said…' Then Wendy smiled back at him.

"Lucy nee-chan, can I go play now?" Gray pleaded. Lucy nodded.

"Sure, but play around guild only and be careful, okay?" she smiled soon followed by Grays' happy squeal and he ran out from infirmary room.

"He was abused," Wendy stated, suddenly turned serious. "And in such a horrible way,"

Lucy didn't seem startled at all. She just stared at the way Gray gone before. "I see…" she mumbled.

"My… who he is and what had happened to him actually?" Lucy frowned. Wendy gave her a slight pat on her shoulder.

"A whole mystery won't be revealed in one day, Lucy-san. I'm sure sooner or later we'll find it out. Just like master Makarov said. For now, let's just having fun with him," she smiled to the blonde who smiled back.

"I guess you're right."

***Fairy**Tail***

It had been two days since little Gray officially joined Fairy Tail. Their—people in guild—attitude toward that new little boy softened. They started to act casual toward that boy and even sometimes played with him and teased him and did every activity with that boy, well except doing mission of course. They obeyed Makarovs' 'request' to treat him normally, not like as if he was Gray Fullbuster himself. They even never mentioned about Gray Fullbuster and his death and everything about him in front of that boy. They assumed if it would be the best if he had no idea about this dead-ice mage. Little Gray didn't know about the existence of Gray Fullbuster.

However there was one person who still wasn't capable to adapt with this new presence of 'Gray reincarnation', Natsu. After the slamming-table incident days before, they never saw that Fire Dragon Slayer. Happy could not find him in their house either. It made him cried and whined to Lucy about how lonely he was and how he worried that fire mage so much. Lucy sweatdropped as petting that exceeds' head, saying that it was Natsu they're talking about, one of Fairy Tail S-class mages so he would be definitely fine. But everyone knew the truth, feeling the same that they were worrying Natsu so much as well. He was nowhere to be found and he was in extremely rage, unstable emotion. Who knows what he could do in that state?

For the time being, little Gray lived with Lucy in her apartment. She didn't mind at all and it made him became closer and counting on 'Lucy nee-chan' almost for everything. Lucy gladly took care of him like he was her own little brother. Sometimes Loke also came to human world with his own magical power just to see Gray.

"Is something wrong, Gray-chan?" Lucy asked when saw Gray didn't touch his shaved ice until half-of it had turned into water. Gray just continued his activity roaming his eyes around that guild. It was kinda lonely that time. Mostly of guild member were off for mission. Like team Shadow Gear and Gajeel and Pantherlily. Alzack and Bisca even their daughter, Asuka who went to do a simple job with Romeo. Erza wasn't there as well since she took a solo mission from yesterday. Laxus and Makarov were in guild but they did nothing except sipped their drink and had light talk with Mira in the bar.

"Where's that idiot flame-breath?" little Gray asked, light frown on his temple.

Lucy almost chocked from her drink and Happy who sat on the table, eating his fish, chocked as well. While Wendy and Carla who also sat at the same table with them lifted their head up confusedly from a book they read together.

"Are you two okay?" Wendy asked after knowing if the blonde and the blue exceed chocked. Lucy waved her hand, gesturing if they were fine.

"Err… sorry, what?" Lucy asked to the boy again, made sure she wasn't mishearing this time.

Gray swelled his cheeks in annoyance. "Flame-breath… that dummy who always blows fire from his mouth…" he said exasperatedly and he became more frustrated when saw Lucys' confused and startled expression. Wendy and Carla exchanged glance, as confused as Lucy. But Happy froze at once. He knew what the boy meant.

"Natsu… nii" he said finally, reluctantly adding 'nii' when stating Natsus' name.

Lucy blinked then her lips made a grin, she let out a giggle, "Oh, I see…" Her giggle burst into a laugh when saw Gray pouted at her. Wendy joined in chuckle while both exceeds just let out a smile.

'_Even in this form, he still calls Natsu with that insult, eh?'_

"Sorry Gray-chan… I have no idea either. I haven't seen him for a couple days already," Lucy said between her chuckled to the pouting little boy.

"If you're wondering where Natsu is, he is going to do his S-class mission," Cana said casually as sat across of them, joining at their table. "Hi, Gray…" she added, grinning to the little boy.

Gray grinned back, "Hello too, Cana nee…" he replied with the same cheer. Little Gray and Cana were so fast to be close. Maybe it had something to do with their 'old' relationship where Gray Fullbuster and Cana were the first ones who joined Fairy Tail years before. So they became so close since their ages were almost equal.

"You wanna drink?" Cana offered when she saw Gray staring at her beer.

"Cana!" Lucy warned. Cana just chuckled seeing Lucys' reaction.

"Aww… anee-chan is angry~~…" she teased, winking. "Just kidding, Lucy… I know Gray is still under the age for alcohol…"

Lucy huffed as swelled her cheeks like what little Gray did to her before.

"Natsu going to a mission? Alone" Happy asked. A hint of sadness was clear in his voice. Cana nodded.

"Yeah, this morning before you came, he came to guild and took a quest then instantly burst out after told Mira." Cana shrugged. "He still put on _that_ face. Seems like he's still… restless" she added.

"Does Natsu nii mad because of me?" little Gray stated suddenly. They moved their gaze to him. Disappointment and sadness was clear on his face. Lucy twitched a little, sympathy for the boy.

"Aww… of course not, Gray…" Cana soothed him. "That idiot just cannot adapt and put on the right emotion for this condition," she added as patting the boys' head.

"Does he go alone?" Lucy asked Happys' unanswered question again.

Cana nodded, "Well, yeah. He needs some times to be alone after all,"

Then they had nothing to be talked to. Cana invited Gray to play card game after he finished his shaved ice while Happy watching. Wendy and Carla had gone from guild. They said they wanted to find some new books. Lucy was staring at them playing cards but her mind was wandering to who-know-where. After hearing Canas' story she could conclude that right now Natsu was trying to avoid Gray for certain reason. It took no time for them to hear someone entering the guild. It was Juvia and… her boyfriend, Lyon.

"Ah, those two haven't had any idea if Gray is here yet…" Cana stated suddenly as watching those two walked toward counter where Mirajane was, greeting some random people. "… it's gonna be interesting," she added with mischievous grin plastered on face.

And that's right. When Lucy turned her attention to bar, Juvia and Lyon had done their business with master to report that they had done the quest successfully. Then she saw Mirajane said something to both couple in serious manner. They flinched in surprise but yet, seemed like they didn't believe it. Mirajane slightly pouted for their reaction then pointed her finger toward the table where Lucy, little Gray, Happy and Cana sat. The couples' gaze followed Mirajanes' finger, didn't need too long for them to notice a little boy who sat beside Lucy. Their jaw dropped open.

"GRAY-SAMA!" Juvia yelled in shock, made everyones' attention turned to her and stared at her as if she was such a weirdo. But both Juvia and Lyon didn't care at all. Gray turned around as well hearing someone mentioned his name in such a loud voice. Immediately everything he could see was dark as the water mage suddenly hugged him thigh.

"EEEEEKK!" Gray yelped but his voice sound vague since his whole face was buried in Juvias' chest.

"Well, that's a predicable reaction from you," Cana smirked as watching Juvia hugged little Gray until that little boy almost out of oxygen in amused. While Lucy sweatdropped seeing that scene. Lyon did nothing but staring his girlfriend hugged that looked-familiar boy.

"Lyon is jeaalllllousss" Happy chirped seeing Lyons' face. But the latter didn't pay any attention to exceeds' tease. He was too shock for seeing the new kid.

"Are you really… are you really Gray-sama?" Juvia finally released her hug and cupped that tiny face of Gray. She felt a stung in her eyes seeing how similar that face with someone face she loved.

"I am Gray…" Gray frowned in confusion. "Juvia nee? Why are you crying?" he added, slightly panic seeing drop of tear escaped from the water mages' eyes. While outside, rain started to pour.

Juvia gasped when little Gray mentioned her name, so as Lyon.

"You're really Gray-sama…" Juvia stuttered in barely audible voice.

"You're really Gray?" Lyon asked, still shock.

Grays' frown deepened, "I am Gray, Lyon nii," he stated half-exasperatedly, half-confusedly.

Lyon opened his mouth but then stopped when he saw Canas' gaze warned him to not spilling any word. Lucy also immediately grabbed Juvias' shoulder.

"It's kinda complicated, Juvia. So let's sit here and I'll tell you everything," Lucy mumbled as patting empty space beside her. Juvia stared at her for a minute before nodded then released her hug. Gray looked at her in confused, curious, shock and… awe as the water mage moved to sit beside Lucy. Lyon also took his seat across to Lucy, beside Cana. Both of them were ready to hear Lucys' explanation.

"Well… hey, Gray, Mira said she has new flavor of ice cream. Let's go to bar and ask her some," Cana chirped in cheerful tone and dragged little Gray away from their table.

"Aye! I want Ice cream with the flavor of fish!" Happy shouted and flied to bar, leaving Cana and the pouting boy since he was forced to go. But his childish eyes couldn't lie about his urge to eat ice cream.

"Eew, Happy, that's disgusting," Cana stuck her tongue while frowning for Happys' last statement.

Lucy mouthed a thank you to Cana who replied with a wink before turned to face the curious couple.

"Err… I guess I'll start from Grays' death anniversary…" she began.

It took almost 20 minutes for Lucy to explain everything about 'Gray-chan' to them. About how the boy came to Fairy Tail, about his lost memories, about him who was believed as the reincarnation of Gray Fullbuster, about the way they should treat him the best and about his current situation. After Lucy finished her explanation, they stared at her as if she was insane. Really, it was the craziest thing they'd ever heard.

"Not making sense!" Lyon retorted. Lucy shot him an exasperated glare.

"I'm also thinking the same. But can you think about another possibility?" Lucy snapped, still glaring at him. Lyon glared at her back before finally he sighed and surrender.

"He… is not… Gray-sama?" Juvia asked. Lucy shook her head.

"No with a bit of 'yes'. It's like what I said, 'complicated'"

"And making no sense," Lyon added coldly.

"…and making no sense in this magic world which full with _making-no-sense things_" Lucy added sarcastically.

Silence came. None—from three of them—who intended to open their mouth and started conversation. Each was busy with their thought. Cana and Mirajane once in a while looked at those three with worry since their talk seemed kinda tense. The rest of the guild just was busy with their own business so they didn't pay much attention to those three.

"Juvia has no idea whether she has to be happy or sad in this circumstance," Juvia mumbled slowly. Lucy sighed contently then cupped her chin with elbow rest on the table.

"Yeah, I know what do you mean, Juvia… Hey! I almost forgot something!" Lucy straightened from her sit and she turned her head toward Lyon. "Lyon, since you're the same type of mage as Gray… so can you teach Gray-chan at how to use his magic?"

Lyon raised his eyebrow, "Oh yeah, you've mentioned that he's an ice mage, no? Well…" He leaned his back onto anything behind him. For no reason a smirk spread on his face. "He's such a troublesome guy. Okay, I'll do it. And I won't go easy even if he's just a five years old,"

"Awesome," Lucy grinned. "Wait a minute, I'll call him"

***Fairy**Tail***

"Alright, Gray, can you tell me what you can do with your magic?" Lyon asked, slightly leaned forward to be closer with the boy across oh him.

"Err… I can make some lances and a shield from ice…" the latter boy answered hesitantly. Lyon stared at him before he slightly nodded.

"I see… okay, from now on—eh… maybe from tomorrow—I'll teach you this ice mage since I'm also an ice mage that use the similar magic as you," Lyon curved a small smile when he saw little Grays' face brightened.

"Really? Yay! I can't wait!" he shouted in glee, jumping up and down on his seat. Lucy giggled but didn't do anything to calm the hyperactive child down. Even Juvia who always put on sad face and even sobbing since she saw little Gray, gave her smile too.

"Hoo… so finally Gray-chan get a teacher to teach him ice magic, that's great. Thanks Lyon," Makarov shouted from bar where he was sitting. Laxus also nodded and gave small smile to express his gratitude for the ice mage of Lamia Scale.

"No problem, master Makarov. I'll also get some benefits here after all," he said as winked to Juvia. Juvia just tilted her head as she could not digest Lyons' words.

"He seduuuuuuucccceee you," Happy chirped again with his usual style, made the water mage blushed.

"What's 'Seduce'?" little Gray innocently. Lucy abruptly shook her head.

"It's nothing, Gray-chan!" she then smacked Happys' head. "Urusai neko!"

"Lucy! You're so mean!" Happy whined.

"Looks like you're gonna stay here longer, huh? For teaching Gray will take some times, right? " Cana raised an eyebrow to the Lamia Scale mage.

He smiled and slightly shook his head, "Sadly, I'll not. I'll just teach the basic of molding ice to him. After that he can practice by himself. Ice molding magic is a magic to create your own 'magic'. You have to improve it with your own style. That's what our master said, well, more or less,"

"Well, Gray… I'll start tomorrow so prepare for yourself. I'll wait at about 8 here. Don't be late and I warn you, I won't go easy even if for a little kid like you," Lyon turned back to little Gray who nodded in understanding and determination plus excitement in his onyx eyes.

"By the way, where you'll stay for tonight? Hotel?" Lucy asked suddenly. Lyon smirked suddenly then wrapped his arm around Juvias' waist. Once again, the water mage blush ten shade of red.

"Of course I'll stay at Juvias' place. Right, Juvia?" he said seductively then kissed his girlfriends red cheek.

"Hey! Don't show your flirt to a little kid!" Lucy protested as closed Grays' eyes with her hands. But Gray had seen that scene which made him pouted. He then stood up from his seat and walked straight to Juvia.

"Don't take what's mine!" Gray yelled childishly as grabbing Juvias' hand and hugged it tightly. Juvia blinked by the little kids' sudden outburst, so as everyone around.

"Eeh? What did you say, brat?" Lyon said, seemed like he took Grays' childish outburst kinda seriously.

"I said Juvia nee is mine!" the little boy narrowed his eyes. Everyone could see tint on pink in his cheeks.

It didn't need too long for them to get what was happened. Well, little Gray shared the same feeling of Gray Fullbuster though just a bit of it and little Gray seemed didn't know what he was talking about or why. This action of little Grays' showed what he felt and what _Gray Fullbuster_—his past life—felt. What an unexpectedly circumstances. In no time, Lucy and Cana burst to laugh.

"Ahahaha… little Gray is jealous!" Cana shouted between her laugh. Little Gray pouted and his face reddened.

"Oh my… I never thought there would be something like this…" Lucy giggled.

"Eh…? Ehh?" Juvia confusedly stared at one of her nakama then to the other. She still could not get why everyone was laughing. Even Mirajane and master at the counter.

"Gray liiiikes you…" Happy rolled his tongue. "So _that_ Gray liiiiked you too…"

The couple squealed in surprised,

"WHAT?"

***Fairy**Tail***

Is it too long? Is it too rambling? Is it too slow? Is it bad? Please tell me by giving reviews… DX

Honestly, I don't know what I was writing here. I got tired so I didn't do the re-check. But I can tell that this chapter is no good… T^T There're tons on wrong grammar and spelling and also there're tons of messiness of story plot. I lost my confidence… please forgive me~~~ (,_ _') *bow hundred times.

For the umpteenth times, I'm so sorry for the real late update. And so sorry again to tell you that from now on, _Once Again, Live _will be published late. At least, once in two weeks? Or if I'm lucky enough I'll be able to update it once in a week. The next chapter—chapter 7—will be extremely late too, why?

I haven't written any single word for that chapter. Totally 0! 0%

My school has been started. Say hello to the mountain of task and homework~~~ TT,

Internet connection in my home is suck! Like or not, I have to go to internet rent places—We (*Indonesian) called it _warnet_—to publish it. And it's kinda far from my house.

But I can guarantee if this story WON'T be discontinued! It'll only be publish later than usual I did.

And like usual… I plead for your reviews… so much… whether it's about the characters whose started to become OOC and all, EVERYTHING!

Thank you for you all who had followed my stories and given awesome reviews… Hey, have you read my another FT fict? It's GraLu, (*Tee hee… promote~~ promote~~~, how narciss of me X9)

***Fairy**Tail***

**OMAKE—What Happen Between Lyon and Juvia After the 'Confession' of Little Grays'?**

It had been evening. Two youngsters seemed walked in the dim light of street. Both were mages from different guild and now were in relationship. They were Lyon Bastia and Juvia Loxar.

"Err… Juvia…" Lyon called, breaking the golden silence they had before. Juvia hummed happily as her replied. She looked so happy since the confession back at Fairy Tail guild before. She didn't stop humming cheer song in soft tone.

"What is it, Lyon?" Juvia asked back after the long silence. Lyon hadn't said anything yet. He nervously scratched his head. Juvia stared at him, frowning lightly. It's so rare for Lyon Bastia to be nervous.

"Nah… I… I just wondering… do you… do you love me?" he asked hesitantly. Juvias' frown deepened.

"Why did Lyon ask Juvia that?" she asked, looked kinda hurt.

"No… no! That's not what you're thinking! Just…" Lyon abruptly said after saw Juvias' hurt in her face. "…just after that incident in the guild… you know, now you know Gray actually loved you too. I know you love Gray more than anything else…" he bowed his spiky-white head

The water mage intently looked at her lover. "Lyon knows that he's just a little kid, no?" she asked.

"Of course I know… however, he's Gray, right? The reincarnation or what from Gray Fullbuster. Even his appearance has a lot of similarities with him. Plus, a bit of his memories, his personality… his feeling…" Lyon burst out the words with full of emotion.

Instead, Juvia giggled, "Aww… Lyon is jealous to a five years old little boy… cute…" she teased and started to laugh. Lyons' face soon turned red.

"Seriously, Lyon…" Juvia sighed. "That boy—Gray-chan—isn't Gray-sama. Lucy had told us, hadn't she?"

Lyon didn't say a thing, just looked away but Juvia heard he mumbled, "Yeah, I know,"

"Juvia does love Gray-sama, always," the female mage stated, looking away dreamingly. Lyon twitched.

"And by knowing that Gray-sama loved Juvia back… Juvia cannot say her happiness in words," she continued, still in her dreaming state. Lyon felt a pang of jealousy and exasperation hearing Juvias' confession. He just wanted to open his mouth when Juvia—without looking at Lyon—said,

"But… Juvia knows too that it's impossible for her loving someone that has gone. Juvia loves Gray-sama, not Gray-chan. Juvia indeed loves Gray-sama, but in different way from Juvias' love toward Lyon," she grabbed Lyons' hand and squeezed it gently.

Lyon, who at first felt so tense from the conversation slowly relaxed, thanks to Juvias' hand.

"Juvia still loves Gray-sama who had gone far away so Juvia cannot reach him anymore no matter what Juvia does. So now, how could Juvia doesn't love someone who obviously loves Juvia and that person is right in front of Juvia? Right in Juvias' side so she can always reach for him?" Juvia smiled gently. Lyon stared wide eyes at her before slowly he smiles, a sincere and gentle smile, a lovingly smile.

"I love you, Juvia. Now and forever" he said, hugging the blue haired woman. Trapped her within his warm embrace. Juvia smiled and hugged him back, snuggled closer into the warm of her lovers' embrace.

"Ju—… I love you too, Lyon, now and forever,"

In the end, Lyon was relieved since he didn't need to be bothered by little Gray who 'liked' Juvia nor the fact that Gray Fullbuster also loved her. Because now Juvia was his. He took a mental note and mental swear to his dead-'brother' that he would protect this girl they both loved.

"I promise," he murmured mentally while grabbing Juvias' hand. They then walked home hand-in-hand.

***Fairy**Tail***

(***A/N** again… hope you don't bore reading it… X9 )

Omake… I don't know why I insist to write this, well, anyway… do you like it? It's just random idea that popped in my head just now, so suddenly. Tee hee… ^^"

^^Review Will Make Me Fire Up to Continue, So Review Please~~~ ^^ 


	7. Chapter 7  Dream, Feeling

Yip~~~pie~~~… I'm updating this story! Banzai! \(^^)/ It has been a month, right? So sorry for the late update. SCHOOL IS KILLING ME! I almost didn't get any chance to face my PC due to the mountain of homework and test XC. However, I still love school, that place is amazing =D. Also recently, I got some s-m-a-l-l problem with my only PC. Luckily I didn't lose any data I have in there, *phew~

By the way, all thanks to _**Kairaita**_ who had beta read this chapter. Ah, don't say that you weren't doing much because actually you'd done a lot. (*Yeah, it's for you, Kai. For the umpteenth times, THANKS XD *wink~ wink~ wink~) Ok… although the grammar in this Author Note is still kind of messy ('^^)a, but for the main story, I can guarantee it's better than _this_.

Time to reply the reviews~~….

**Yin005** : Thanks for the wait and also the review. Though it's short but still, precious =) Ah, yeah, this is the new chapter… RnR, please? ^^

**Laila Yagami** : Hehehe… I indeed took it from the manga because it became a… 'hot-gossip' when it first being published. And I kind of like it actually (*Btw, Juvia was so beautiful in that chapter, her hair style. Luv it X]) GrayxUltear is nice too, though crack. But I'd prefer GrayxCana for crack pairing, they're cool XD. Hehehe… thanks… from now on I'll try to control my negative thought. So now, please enjoy this 7th chapter!

**Spring Breeze** : Hi too (*wink) I'm glad that I got a good point in my plot. And I'm sorry about Gray's sudden knowledge that sounded too convenient. I just couldn't find the better way to explain it ^^". And that Gray vs Lyon part I took from the manga, indeed =9. I'm happy the Omake got many good responds because usually I'm not too good in making short-sweet romantic scene (*chuckled nervously)

**Rewinsan **: Tidak ada kata 'terlambat' buat nge-review, khehehe… XD But, I'm soooo sorry for the late update. Hehe… School is torturing me =9. Yeah… poor Natsu… tapi itu juga suatu kesenangan tersendiri bikin para karakternya desperate semua. Kyahahaha…. I love torturing the characters XDDD Owh… Gray's past will be revealed a bit in this chapter. So, silahkan, silahkan… di baca atuh… ^^

**Lost Canvas** : Hello, you changed your name? At first I was confused finding a new name in the review list, LoL. Never mind ^^". Well, Gray's wounds are still a mystery in this chapter. I keep it for the next next next next chapter as the err… climax of this story. So, be patience, okay? Hehe… And, the appearance of Gray Fullbuster, huh? Yes, I'm planning that scene too, but I still haven't decided in which chapter I'll put it. Once again, be patience… CX Okay… okay… I won't stop, it will be updated later only. And again, be patience… LoL XD

***Fairy**Tail***

**ONCE AGAIN, LIFE**

Rate : K+

Genre : Angsty, Family, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Drama, Supernatural

Pairing : a bit JuLy

Warning : OOC, Discontinue, miss-spelling and grammar (*had been betaed anyway, so I'm more confident with this chapter than the others ^^)

**DISCLAIMER,**

I do not own Fairy Tail characters. It belongs to Hiro Mashima. If I owned it, I would make Gray Fullbuster as the main character! (*well, at least give him more chance to show off since I think he doesn't have enough in both manga and anime. LoL. Poor Gray…)

Chapter 7. Dream, Feeling

…_I won't go easy even if he's just a five years old boy…_

***Fairy**Tail***

'…_it's so dark… No, too dark._

_Where am I? I can't see anything… _

…_even my legs and my hands. I can't see them._

_Everything is just dark, black… pitch black._

_I don't like it! I don't like this darkness!_

_Too black, too thick… too tight._

_It's so uncomfortable. __I feel like I can't even move a finger._

_This darkness… it's pressing against me, it's choking me_

_I can't breathe! I can't move! _

_Someone help me!'_

***Fairy**Tail***

Little Gray's eyes snapped open and he was panting. Cold sweat started forming on his temple while the memory of his previous dream—which was nothing but black—came across his mind again. At first, he was confused until he recognized his surroundings. It was dim, not pitch-black, which made him relax a bit. But a little wave of panic attacked him once more when he suddenly realized something heavy was wrapped around his waist. He snapped his body up and struggled violently to free himself from whatever it was, but then noticed that he was lying on something soft and warm. Gray blinked and tried to calm down, looking around as much as his eyes could see.

He remembered now. He was on Lucy's bed and now he was staring at Lucy's sleeping face. The older blonde snored softly and slept so well that Gray's previous thrashing hadn't woke her up at all. Little Gray sighed contently, realizing that he was in a safe place. He looked around and saw the window. It was covered by a thin curtain, but little Gray could tell that it was still in the middle of the night. He relaxed then and lay back down in a more comfortable position, remembering the dream. It made him shiver.

Actually, it wasn't the first time he had had such a dream. Gray had gotten them a couple of times before. He remembered the first time was a few months before he had come to Magnolia. That time, he had suddenly woken up in an old hut in the middle of the forest without any human beings around. Plus, he had had many wounds that really hurt. He had been afraid of them then._ Where did I get these from? Did someone do this to me? Did someone try to kill me before by torturing me? How did I get here? _The questions would not stop ringing in his mind.

But then, even though he did not know why, his mind could tell him what he had to do. It demanded him to take some supplies like food, water, and a cloak for his journey to a city named Magnolia. His walk towards Magnolia could not be said to be fun at all. It was just the opposite. He had to suffer from the lack of food and from chilly nights. He started to suffer from starvation about a week after he had started his journey toward Magnolia, which turned out to be on the opposite side of the country. If he was lucky enough, he would be given food by some kind people who pitied him, or he would just dig in piles of trash in alleyways to find expired food or half eaten apples. As for places to shelter, he would stay wherever it was possible. As long as that place had a roof to protect him from rain or whatever disaster would come from the skies, it was fine. It was not rare that he spent his night in a place with no roof or walls, and it made him shiver from cold. Even his old cloak would not help him at all during those times.

Gray heard a soft mumble behind him. It was Lucy mumbling something in her sleep. Gray clenched his fist. For those hard three months heading to Magnolia, he never expected to get this kind of life. It was so fun and warm. Even though he'd only stayed here for a week and a couple of days, he could already tell that this place was the best thing for him. With the comfortable atmosphere and the kind people who cared for him a lot, Gray felt like he was home. He couldn't tell them how grateful he was. Words couldn't express it.

Little Gray slowly turned around so that he was facing his Lucy nee-chan. Lucy didn't wake up from his movement and he was somewhat relieved. Gray snuggled closer to Lucy, making sure her warmth covered him completely. Lucy giggled, but did not wake up. Instead, her arms wrapped around Gray's little shoulders, hugging him closer. Gray smiled at this action. He hugged Lucy around her neck, since it was the only part he could reach around with his little arms, and buried his head in Lucy's chest.

That dream. That dark dream had haunted him from the very first moment he had claimed himself as Gray. When he had woken up in that hut, he remembered nothing but the name Gray and some city named Magnolia. During his journey to Magnolia, he had slowly remembered some other things. But it was only a little bit, and there were still so many lost pieces of the puzzle. Gray. Magnolia. Fairy Tail. Five years. And finally, the date of the sixth of October, year X791. That was all. About a month later, he had somehow remembered how to do Ice Make magic, even though he was sure he had never learned it from anyone. Although he was only able to make a shield and lance, it was good enough to use for self-protection.

And again, that dream. That dream of nothing but blackness. After the first time he had it, it came more often. He hated that dream and was afraid of it. That darkness could make him do nothing, including breathing. That dream ordered him to die. But fortunately, it hadn't happened yet. In the end, his eyes would snap open and he was back in his real life. However, the fear wouldn't be swept away yet. When he opened his eyes, he would face the loneliness. He would face the painful fact that he had to face his nightmare all alone, because no one else could be relied on. In the middle of the night, chilly winds blew, freezing his spine. It was so silent and dangerous, but no one would protect this poor little boy. Protect…? Heh, he didn't even have anyone to soothe him from having this nightmare. He couldn't cry and tell someone about his dream because no one would listen to him.

Gray tightened his hug around Lucy's neck. He shut his eyes firmly, trying to fall asleep again. But he couldn't. His harsh past kept coming into his mind. Like it or not, he kept remembering his long, tiring journey to this Magnolia City. If he counted it right, he had taken almost three months to arrive at Magnolia. When he first stepped into this city, he had felt everything was way too familiar. He knew the ways around the city perfectly, as if he had once spent years here. He then met the people in Fairy Tail, who had accepted him so happily and readily. But sometimes, little Gray could not understand the way they treated him. As if they were old friends, and as if little Gray wasn't someone new to them. Indeed, Gray also felt something familiar towards those Fairy Tail mages. As if they were once his family long ago. He just couldn't understand it, or the way that Natsu acted towards him. As if Natsu was avoiding Gray. As if Natsu hated him, while Gray was sure that he and Natsu were supposed to be close—well, not in a buddy-buddy way.

Gray was confused about himself, about his surroundings. He had some feelings that felt strange to him. As if those feelings were him, but only within him. It was so confusing. Could it be… there were someone else's feelings in him? Gray had that thought sometimes, about the possibility that there were someone else's thoughts in him. But he could not tell everyone about it. Even with his five-years-old kid's brain, he could tell it was nonsense.

The little boy shook his head gently, trying to sweep those confusing thoughts out of his mind. Really, he'd never thought that strange dream could lead to this long and complicated thought. He sighed, hoping it would make his head lighten a bit. His hands, which were clinging around Lucy's neck at the moment, moved to grip Lucy's pajama shirt. With someone sleeping next to him, he felt safe from any harm. That dream… He didn't have any intention to tell anyone. For now, at least. As long as he had someone next to him, Gray was sure he would be okay. Even from that dream that kept trying to choke him to death.

Finally, the raven-haired little boy managed to fall sleep again without any more nightmares.

***Fairy**Tail***

"Ice Make: Shield!"

The yell rang around the backyard of the Fairy Tail guild building. There were two people standing in the space. One was a mature man with spiky-white hair while the other one was a little boy with midnight-black hair. A serious expression could be seen on both of their faces. The boy was panting heavily from creating an ice shield a couple times already—one of which was now standing right in front of him. The boy grinned slightly, proud of his ice creation. _'It's way better than before.'_

However, the older man furrowed his temple seeing the work of the little boy. He slowly moved his hands and made a certain stance.

"Ice Make: Eagle."

An eagle made from ice appeared from the spiky-white-haired man's hand and launched straight towards the ice shield that Gray had made. In no time, Gray's shield was torn into pieces thanks to Lyon's eagle. As the shield was destroyed, the caster himself flew backwards from the impact of the attack.

"Ouch!" Little Gray shouted, as his butt made a harsh contact with the sandy ground.

"Your shield is too weak! It's so fragile that even my ice eagle could break it off," Lyon said, glaring at the boy exasperatedly. "How many times do I have to tell you to plant your feet better before making the shield? And next time, do it faster!"

The raven haired boy pouted and threw an exasperated look toward his ice magic tutor.

"It's only my second day of training! Why are you torturing me like this?" Gray complained. Lyon kept staring at the boy calmly and coolly, but everyone knew that some invisible vein had popped on his head.

"It's _because_ today is your second day that's making me depressed that you still can't make an ice shield properly! Don't you realize how little time you have to learn Ice Molding magic? Now stand up and make an ice shield again. Don't forget about the important points I told you." Lyon snapped back. Gray abruptly stood up and made the stance again.

"Lyon, you're too strict to him," said Juvia, as the water mage approached the spiky-haired man. Lyon shook his head and huffed. "Our training back then with Ur was much harder than this. At least he doesn't need to train on a snowy mountain," he sighed, watching his pupil make an ice shield that soon broke into pieces… again.

"What the hell is that? I said make it tougher, not the opposite!" Lyon shouted irritably, seeing little Gray's magic. Gray was panting hard, and his shirt was wet from sweat. The little boy growled slowly, before mumbling, "Sorry… _master."_

Juvia sweat-dropped at this scene. However, she couldn't help but giggle. _'It's so rare for Lyon to be concerned about someone this much,' _she thought. _'Juvia guesses that he actually really cares about Gray-chan improving his magic more than anyone else.'_

"What are you laughing at?" Lyon raised an eyebrow. Juvia, still giggling, lifted her head a little so she could see her lover properly.

"It's nothing…" the water mage choked out lightly. "Juvia just thinks that Lyon's quiet concern towards Gray-chan is pretty cute." She winked, and Lyon suddenly blushed.

"Wha- What are you talking about? I don't know what you mean." He turned around so that his flushed face couldn't be seen by Juvia. It made the water mage giggle again. Meanwhile, little Gray sat on the ground a few meters from the couple, regaining his breath and taking some rest while he had the chance. He had used his magic about five times already today. It was a big improvement than before, when he had only been able to use it twice a day. Gray watched the couple… flirting. Juvia kept teasing Lyon, who had turned crimson red. The blue-haired woman laughed, watching her boyfriend's face continually redden as she teased him. Lyon looked exasperated but happy at the same time, as if he was enjoying Juvia's teasing. It could be seen from the smirks that somehow managed to escape from the older ice mage's lips.

The couple didn't notice a raven-haired boy staring at them enviously. Little Gray's feelings seemed random. He was jealous of Juvia and Lyon's close relationship. Gray didn't understand why, but he wanted Juvia to be with him. However, the feeling was strange. It was as if… it wasn't his true feelings. It was as if someone was controlling him and his liking towards Juvia. This feeling towards Juvia _wasn't_ him, but… how could he feel it too? There was also another feeling suddenly, but Gray knew it wasn't _his_: the feeling of regret. Somehow, he regretted that he never had and couldn't make Juvia laugh like that. He regretted that he wouldn't be able to make Juvia happy and cheerful because of him. He—

The little boy blinked. _'What am I thinking?' _he cursed mentally, and stood up to make the certain stance.

***Fairy**Tail***

Gray ate his meal quickly. Extremely quickly. Next to him, Juvia sweatdropped, trying to persuade the boy to slow down a bit or he would choke. But Gray mumbled about how Lyon's training drained his stamina in between bites of his food, continuing to eat at a monstrous speed. Cana, who was also sitting at the same table, cheerily shouted her support towards the little boy. Today, Gray wasn't with Lucy since the celestial spirit mage had taken a mission in order to earn extra money for her and Gray, who was living with her. Lucy wouldn't be back until tomorrow, so little Gray had to stay at Juvia's place. Gray was quite happy to hear this while Lyon seemed to pout slightly, since his two straight nights of alone time with his lover would be disturbed by a brat. And Juvia? She obviously liked the idea.

It was the fifth day since Gray had started his training with Lyon. The guild was noisy as usual, with chatter here and there. But there weren't any violent brawls as usual since the main troublemakers like Natsu, Gajeel and Erza were all out on missions. So this night was one of the most peaceful that Fairy Tail had seen in a while. Little Gray's temporary tutor, Lyon, was talking to the ex-master, Makarov, and the current master, Laxus. Their topic was obviously about Gray's improvement.

"It's pretty good. He's able to make a shield properly now. Tomorrow, I'll teach him about another ice molding technique," Lyon stated with a smirk on his face. Indeed, just this afternoon, Gray had finally managed to make a bigger and tougher ice shield. Lyon was satisfied enough with this new shield of Gray's, as it was able to block his Ice Lion's attack at medium power. Makarov nodded with a hint of pride in his expression hearing Lyon's statement, while Laxus kept quietly sipping at his beer. But deep down, he was happy and relieved as well at Gray's improvement.

"Glad to hear it. But do you have enough time to teach him completely? In two days, you'll be back at your own guild, right?" Laxus asked, putting his mug of beer on the bar counter. Lyon waved his hand dismissively.

"It's enough. Ice molding magic is a magic that you learn by yourself. Tomorrow, I'll just give him the basics of creating things with ice magic. After that, he should be able to find his own style and learn automatically afterwards," Lyon explained. Laxus hummed, rubbing his chin with his thumb and index finger. Yeah, he understood.

"But making a shield is something a bit different. That's why I taught him that first completely until he could make it perfectly. A shield is something that every ice mage has and it's the most basic technique. In the past, Ur taught us that first too," the ice mage added.

"Are there any problems during his practice?" Makarov asked out of curiosity.

Lyon tilted his head slightly, as if considering something. Then he smiled and shook his head. "Nope."

"Instead, he learns quite fast. Usually, making a well-done ice shield needs a whole week, but he… Well, I get a feeling that he was once experienced in this field."

Makarov grinned and let out a small laugh as if the reason was obvious, making Lyon and Laxus raise an eyebrow. Makarov shrugged and sipped his drink until it was empty. "Did you guys forget about that reincarnate thingy? I thought it was made clear already that we were considering that theory as well."

"Makarov-san, you believe in that reincarnation thing as well?" Lyon asked disbelievingly.

"Yes, I do. And I think you believe in that thing as well," Makarov said calmly.

"Well, of course… I…" Lyon stammered. To be honest, he still didn't fully believe that Gray-chan was a reincarnation of Gray Fullbuster. But he did not mention it out loud.

At that time, Juvia approached the three guys, holding little Gray, who snored softly in the water mage's embrace.

"Lyon, Juvia will go first. Gray-chan has fallen asleep," Juvia said as she lovingly stroked the little boy's hair. "Excuse us, Master Makarov, Master Laxus." She bowed respectfully to the current and former masters of Fairy Tail, who replied with nods.

"Be careful on your way home," Makarov said warmly.

Juvia smiled. "Thank you, Master Makarov,"

"Wait, Juvia! I'll come with you too." Lyon abruptly stood up with his excuse to Makarov and Laxus, before walking out of the guild with his girlfriend and the boy she held.

***Fairy**Tail***

"Gray-chan~~….! Did you miss your Lucy nee-chan~~?"

Lucy's shout could be heard throughout the guild as she entered, and she found little Gray playing with Asuka and Romeo near the bar. Gray's smile widened at seeing Lucy, and soon he received a back-breaking hug from the blonde mage.

"L-Lucy nee… I-I can't… breathe…" Gray choked out, sweatdropping as he tried to regain his breath. So did everyone else who was watching the… reunion. It was right before lunch on the day Lucy had promised to be back home from her solo mission.

"Oops, sorry Gray…" Lucy said, and released the little boy.

"My… Lucy has an unexpectedly acute brother-complex." Happy shook his head dramatically.

"Shut your trap up, cat!" Lucy snapped, annoyed, while everyone else let out a laugh. Gray, still being hugged by Lucy, smiled at the pleasurable atmosphere around. He then wrapped his arms around Lucy as well.

"So, how was the mission, Lucy?" Mirajane asked. "Too bad Laxus isn't here today for you to report to him by yourself."

Lucy stood up from her squatting position and gave the barmaid a cheerful smile."Well, of course it went well…" she grinned proudly, but her words were broken off by the appearance of a familiar glow.

"…All thanks to me." Loke appeared and winked to his master, who rolled her eyes.

"Right… all thanks to Loke again," the celestial spirit mage mumbled. Loke laughed at this before he noticed the certain little boy who stared at him. Loke let out a small grin while stroking the boy's hair.

"Long time no see, Gray. How's it going?" Loke grinned.

Gray grinned back. "It's going great!"

"By the way, it's quite calm here… Where is everyone?" Lucy asked curiously and looked around. "Levy and Gajeel aren't back from their mission?"

"Yeah, Cana went on her own mission this morning. Lisanna and Elfman as well. Wendy and Carla are helping me do some shopping. While Erza… won't be back until next week, I think? Oh, Lyon and Juvia were heading to the station…" Mirajane told the blonde.

"Oh yeah, I know. I saw those two on my way here," Lucy said, remembering when she had met the couple. Lyon was going back to his guild, so Juvia had taken him to the station.

"That reminds me, how's your training going, Gray-chan?" Lucy turned to the little boy who was now chatting with the Lion spirit.

Gray's grin widened and he gave Lucy a piece sign with his small fingers."Now I can do the basics of ice make magic properly. Lyon-nii said it's enough for me to learn this magic by myself from now on!" the little boy chirped happily. Lucy smiled amusedly.

"Is that so? It's good then…" she said. Gray nodded in reply then turned around to play with Romeo and Asuka again. Loke watched him from Lucy's side.

"Isn't he adorable?" Lucy teased Loke, seeing her spirit stare at the little boy. Loke chuckled.

"Without his cold attitude and without his stripping-habit? Heck, yeah," he admitted, throwing a smile to his master.

"Well, now that you mention it, Gray-chan has never stripped like Gray usually did," Lucy giggled, sitting down on a stool and cupping her chin. Loke grinned and sat on the stool next to her, wanting to stay a little longer to watch the reincarnation of his old close friend.

"But that's good, right?"

Lucy shrugged. "Well, yes. At least it proves that he's different from the old Gray." A warm smile spread over her face as she watched the boy running around the room with Asuka chasing him. Romeo was laughing while watching them from a table with Happy.

"Yeah, that's right," Loke replied.

Mirajane, who had just been busy serving another guest, approached Lucy and Loke.

"Hey, I just remembered something, Lucy," the Take-Over mage stated. "Yesterday, Natsu contacted me and said he would return today. By this afternoon, maybe? Well, he'll come back soon."

Lucy looked startled for a second but shrugged it off, while Loke had an amused glint in his eyes. Something interesting was going to happen, he hoped.

"I'm kind of wondering about his reaction to Gray now," Loke said, echoing Lucy's thoughts.

"Well…" Lucy said hesitantly. "…He won't be able to avoid it forever." She shrugged and turned to Mirajane. "Mira-chan, can you make me a glass of orange juice? Ah, you want a drink too, Loke?"

The latter sighed, but then nodded. "Sure. Do you have anything with low alcohol, Mira? I kind of miss it, but I don't think it's good to consume too much alcohol this early."

***Fairy**Tail***

Phew…. That took so long to be published. By the way, what do you think? Is it good? Is it bad? Tell me! XC A bit of guilty attacked me when I noticed I didn't answer many questions that popped from the story properly in this chapter. So I think the plot is kind of slow. Hehehe… (*laugh nervously)

Yawn… it's almost twelve already, and I'm soooo sleepy. So I'll let this author note short.

^^ Keep Review, May You? ^^


	8. Chapter 8 Confused, Molding Magic

Wai, wai…! I update it faster than previous chapter. Such an achievement, huh? Hehehe…

For you guys who expected for the problems to be solving in this chapter, I'm afraid to tell you that it won't happen in this chapter. Instead, I added another mystery for this chapter. If you can find it, it's good. But if you can't… well, good luck ^^ (*How rambling I am, right? LoL)

Just want to tell you, (*random thing, not important at all) I read the latest chapter of Fairy Tail manga—chapter 270—and I found it kind of disappointing when Gray had to be lost. Ugyaa! Hiro Mashima is way so cruel to Gray XC I mean, why he didn't make Natsu or Erza to be the one who was lost? I barely saw those two lost (*especially Erza). I don't want Gray to be all perfect, but… sigh, who I am to judge?

By the way, let me thank _**Kairaita**_ again for beta-ing this chapter. Yeah, Kai! Let's do it until the end ^^v Yoroshiku onegaishimasu (*I don't know how to say it in English—what a shame) But I want to say sorry first. Because I changed back some words you'd betaed. Just a bit. XC

Now, the reviews… Wow, if I count it right, chapter 7 got more reviews than other chapters. Wahh… thank you…! CX

**Yin005** : Thank you for the praise ^^ And, sure, that nightmare would lead us to… something :9 (*Almost… Almost… I almost gave spoiler here, khuhuhehe—what a weird way to laugh) I'm so glad you willingly to wait. So then, I'll try my best to be faster in updating new chapter =)

**PurpleDiva888** : Wow, thanks for the review ;) And this is the new chapter. Hope you like it too =D

**Lost Canvas** : Hehehe… yeah, sorry for the rambling, I'm just trying to build some mysteries so you'll be more curious, tee hee. Also I tried to describe other characters feeling—but it didn't work well… =9 But, from now on I'll try to make my plot faster CX Alright… alright… be patience… and please don't haunt me~…! I hate ghost. (*Ara? =o )

**RedBloody-Yukata** : Aww, thank you… here's the next chapter. Keep reviewing, may you? ^^ And yes, I'm an Indonesian. Does it mean… you _too_? Salam kenal kalau begitu…

**Spring Breeze** : Yeah! Keep feeding me reviews! LoL. Well, at least each chapter had more than 3000 words, that's my goal X9 Thanks for your support~~ =D

**Laila Yagami** : I'm afraid it'll take few more chapter until we can see what was happened with Gray in the past, tee hee… (*scratch my neck nervously). Ahh… your hunch is making sense thought it isn't my point here. Keep guessing, it isn't too hard ^^

**Rewinsan** : (*chuckled) sorry, sorry for the very late update… '^^a Ahh… tebakan lain, maaf, tapi nggak tepat, lho… teorinya gampang aja kok, simple. If you expect about Natsu, I think this chapter will help you a bit. And about that feeling thingy? Once again, it's quiet simple. ^^

**GrayFullbusterisMine** : Wow… thank you… but I'm afraid to tell you that Gray in my story won't end up with anyone, sorry if it disappointing you… If you ask me about that manga chapter, sorry, I can't tell you since I have no right idea, (I'm not Hiro Mashima). But if you ask for my opinion, I think it was just Gray's rivalry feeling toward Lyon, not because he liked Juvia. But, but, but… in my story I told that Gray (*little Gray) was jealous because he loved Juvia in the past. Not only because of his rivalry toward Lyon ^^v Kyaa! Thanks for adding me into your favorite, it's quiet a honor for me ^^

**mewsugarpudd** : Thanks, and yep, I'm updating it. Enjoy~~ ^^

***Fairy**Tail***

**ONCE AGAIN, LIFE**

Rate : K+

Genre : Angsty, Family, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Drama, Supernatural, Humor if I may add it,

Pairing : a bit of JuLy

Warning : OOC, Discontinue, miss-spelling and grammar (*had been betaed anyway, so I'm more confident with this chapter than the others ^^)

**DISCLAIMER,**

I do not own Fairy Tail characters. It belongs to Hiro Mashima. If I owned it, I would make Gray Fullbuster as the main character! (*well, at least give him more chance to show off since I think he doesn't have enough in both manga and anime. LoL. Poor Gray…)

Chapter 8. Confused, Molding Magic

…_Natsu would return by today…_

***Fairy**Tail***

A familiar figure stood in front of Magnolia's gates. With his distinct salmon-colored hair that spiked up in several places, his trademark white scarf that resembled dragon scales, and his Fairy Tail tattoo proudly standing out on his bare shoulder, he shifted the sack on his back containing the supplies he had taken on the mission. He hesitantly stood at the entrance as if he wasn't supposed to be there. Some people passing by the gate stared at him oddly for his strange behavior, but others who knew this person greeted him as they passed by, receiving a short "Hi" or "Yup" in reply.

'_Too bad the mission was done earlier than I expected,_' he grumbled internally. He lifted his head higher to see the small silhouette of his beloved guild, Fairy Tail, at the other end of the town.

'_Can't help it…_' he sighed irritably. '_Geez, that little brat drives me crazy! It's his fault that I can't settle down like usual lately._' He swung his foot lightly at a nearby rock, remembering that he was in a town and could get innocent people seriously injured if he kicked it too hard. The rock rolled a few meters forward and hit a cat, which hissed furiously at the rock. But the real perpetrator paid no attention.

Natsu Dragneel sighed again, making his final decision. He walked slowly towards the guild, which was still several hundred meters away. His mind was blank as he followed the familiar path towards a certain place. As he walked, Natsu was oblivious to other random people greeting him along the way, too busy in his thoughts and thinking about what he would do once he arrived at the guild. He let his legs guide him without really seeing where it was leading him to.

'_Act casually like nothing happened? Then what about the brat that's the 'something' there?_'

'_Act normally to him like he's just an ordinary kid? What kind of normal? Being nice like you're his brother or buddy or something?_'

"Heck, no way," Natsu muttered, and shook his head violently. Actually, he didn't get what was happening to him.

'_How can everyone act so casually towards that kid? Like he's nothing special?_'

But Natsu? He couldn't do the same. If a chance came up to interact with the little boy, he never took it. He was only running, escaping, avoiding him. Why? Because every time he saw that kid's face, he saw Gray Fullbuster there.

Every time he smelled that kid's scent, he smelled Gray Fullbuster's. Even though it had been years since he last smelled it, he could remember it clearly like it was yesterday. The scent of one of the important and precious people in his life. And every time he remembered Gray, a pang of guilt and regret stabbed his heart painfully. Because of that, he couldn't bring himself to face the little kid. It made feel angry and confused about himself, like a weakling and a coward who couldn't face reality. And he hated it so much.

Natsu could tell his emotions were unstable. When Gray had died five years ago, Natsu had been down. No, that was an understatement. He had been so depressed and sad, much unlike himself. Months, _years_ later, he had finally managed to control the sadness. Bit by bit, he could reduce the feeling and make it slowly fade. He could finally manage to curve a smile and show people his usual cocky grin much more often. But now? Everything was complicated.

It was because that brat had appeared. That brat, who resembled the ice freak so much, and even had the same name, same magic, and a bit of _his_ old memories. Theories and hunches about reincarnation and such popped up. Natsu couldn't deny that his hope had been lifted up from those theories—the reincarnation thingy, where souls of the dead went and stayed within another living body. If that theory was right, then that little boy was Gray. Gray was back, and Natsu couldn't deny that he had been excited about that. But soon, disappointment attacked him again. People said, his _friends_ said that the little kid wasn't Gray. Once again, his hope of getting his rival-in-everything back was lost, and Natsu fell into despair again.

At some point, Natsu realized that he had unconsciously stopped in his tracks. He snapped himself out of his thoughts and realized where he had ended up. He was slightly surprised, but deep inside, he had guessed that he would end up in this place anyway.

Natsu stared at the granite stone in front of him. He then sat down on the ground to rest from the tiring walk. It looked like he didn't even need to tell his feet to bring him to this place: Gray's grave. His feet had knew already where it should bring its master to.

"Now tell me what the hell this whole thing's about!" Natsu snapped sharply at the beautifully sculpted granite stone. "After all this time, after those long _years_, I thought I could finally stop doing this pointless mourning thing for you. And just when I almost accepted that, _he_ appeared and said he was Gray. What the fuck do you want from me? Do you _want_ me to mourn for you for the rest of my life? What kind of attitude is that?" Natsu poked the granite stone, imagining that he was poking Gray's bare chest in his usual harsh and annoying way. People would have called him weird for talking to a stone, but Natsu didn't care. He was alone there, after all.

"People said that you're being reincarnated," the fire mage mumbled, finally stopping his poking activity. "But at the same time, they said _he's_ not _you_. I totally can't agree with that. Being reincarnated is like when your soul gets reborn and lives in some new body, isn't it? So it makes sense that the brat is _you_, right? Come on, I'm not stupid." Natsu leaned backwards, letting his arms support him from behind.

For several minutes, Natsu sat there in silence. He simply stared at the nice blue sky and let the cold wind brush over his skin. "Thanks for making this whole thing complicated," he finally said quietly. "Just so you know, it's all your fault that I got this weird tension with them now." _Them_ referring to his friends of Fairy Tail.

"Or… is it just me who can't accept the truth?" he asked reluctantly, realizing the possibility. A light frown appeared on his temple. "Or maybe it's not true at all? Does it mean that you never got reincarnated from the beginning? So then, who's that kid? How come he resembles you so much?" Natsu shifted his position, and sat up straight.

"To hell with that! I hate thinking, especially about this sort of weird thing!" he growled. "Now tell me, what should I do about _him_?" Natsu asked, more to himself. But he didn't really expect any answer.

***Fairy**Tail***

Meanwhile, at the Fairy Tail guild…

Little Gray was panting. He was at the beach behind the Fairy Tail building, the place serving as his private training area. Gray was bent over, holding both knees with his hands for support. He tried to catch his breath as he stared at a big rock, his new practice object.

"Ice Make: Lance!" he yelled, making the usual stance. Some spears made from ice appeared from the magic circle in front of him. The spears were launched forward in a flash and hit the coral rock that Gray had been staring at before. But then the caster of the magic growled after seeing the result of his attack. Nothing. It hadn't even left a scratch.

"Arg!" the boy cursed in-between breaths, wiping a drop of sweat that had escaped from his temple.

While he didn't notice it, two women had been watching the little boy from the beginning.

"He's so diligent, isn't he?" the blond woman stated proudly. She leaned her body against the door that connected the Fairy Tail building with its backyard, which was the beach where the little ice mage practiced. Another woman with wavy blue hair that reached her upper back nodded silently. She stared at the boy with worry-filled eyes.

"But doesn't Lucy think that Gray-chan is pushing himself too hard?" asked the blue-haired woman anxiously. They had watched Gray training alone since just after lunch. Little Gray was very strict about practicing. Whenever he had time, he would come to the beach just to practice. With all the free time he had, Gray only used twenty percent of it to play like a normal kid. The rest of the time was used to practice and practice and practice.

"It doesn't make sense," a voice scoffed from behind the women. They turned to see Loke just standing there, a smirk playing on his face.

"Loke, aren't you supposed to be in the celestial world?" Lucy frowned at her strongest spirit.

The Lion spirit grinned. "I just wanted to spend more time here," he said, shrugging lightly.

They watched as Gray made lances again and smashed them against the hard coral rock. Again, nothing came from the result. Though the watchers were inside and the one being watched was outside, the adults could tell Gray had let out another frustrated growl. Loke chuckled at this.

"What is Loke-san going to do?" asked Juvia, seeing the spirit's hand was on the doorknob and slowly turning it.

"Giving him advice," Loke replied nonchalantly, and rushed outside.

"What advice?" Juvia exchanged glances with the blonde. Lucy shrugged, not knowing either. As far as she knew, her spirit didn't have any experiences about ice magic.

"Oi, Gray. Taking a rest already?" called Loke when he was a couple meters away from the exhausted little ice mage.

"Loke…" Little Gray mumbled, seeing who had spoken. Loke smiled and waved to the little boy, slightly bothered by the fact that Gray had never called him with 'nii'. He wondered why.

"How's the training going?" Loke asked, squatting down so that he was at the same height as Gray. Obviously, a five-year-old boy was much shorter than a guy in his… twenties?

Gray pouted at the simple question. "I still can't crush that rock!" he said in his childish way, pointing at the coral rock a few meters from both of them. Loke turned his gaze to the rock that was giving Gray so much trouble. An amused smile spread across his face. '_Really, even an adult would barely be able to crush that in one hit.'_

"Hey, Gray. You know that the rock is kind of… er, hard to crush, right? Even an adult would barely be able to do it," Loke repeated his thought out loud. Gray folded his arms in front of his chest as Loke's words ran through his mind.

"Well… yeah…" mumbled the little boy, agreeing with the spirit reluctantly. "But I decided that I'm gonna crush that rock for my first target in training before I do any other stuff," Gray said, with a voice full of determination and the same determination in a smile on his face.

Loke fell quiet for a moment. Seeing this little Gray flooded with positive desire made him feel somewhat… proud. He chuckled mentally. He wasn't even related to this little boy, so why was this brotherly feeling so strong? Once again, he was wondering about himself.

"Well, good for you then," Loke said amusedly, patting Gray's head. "But I'm pretty sure you won't be able to crush that thing with only your lances. Instead, it was your lances that got crushed, wasn't it?"

Gray pouted again, "So what I should use then? I only have those lances to attack," he frowned to Loke.

But Loke just lifted an eyebrow, "_'Only'_?" asked the spirit half-mockingly, as if it was the silliest thing he'd ever heard. Gray stared at him, confused.

"Do I have anything else?" asked the little boy.

Loke sighed, "Oi, Gray. Do you have any idea what your magic is?"

Gray tilted his head, thinking. "My magic is to make something from ice, that's what Lyon-nii said."

"Right. So now, what do you think of that?" Loke asked again, lazily drawing random things on the sand with his finger. Gray didn't answer for a minute, prompting Loke to lift his head up and see that the boy's face was blank from thinking. Loke sighed mentally.

"Don't just use lances, use whatever else you can think of. Make something different with your ice and use it to attack. With that, you'll be able to have unlimited weapons. Do you get what I mean?"

This made Gray snap his head up. His face suddenly brightened and he punched his palm as understanding flooded his mind. "OH!"

The spirit smiled, knowing that the boy had gotten something useful from his words. Then he stood up and ruffled the boy's hair again. "Really, Gray… You _were_ such a genius back then, but how can you be so stupid now…" Loke joked quietly, referring to his old friend, Gray Fullbuster. Little Gray didn't react from Loke calling him stupid, most likely because he was too excited trying to think about what he should create with his ice. His eyes gleamed brightly as the boy thought.

"Well, good luck then. I'll leave you to it now," Loke said, and he spun around to walk back into the guild. But he'd only walked a couple steps when he heard a voice say something. It was little Gray's childish voice, but the tone was different from usual, sounding cool and so very familiar with someone else. It made the Lion spirit freeze. All of a sudden, he imagined the smirking face of Gray Fullbuster.

"Guess I have to thank you, Loke dude. The kid's brain definitely isn't as smart as mine," the voice said.

Loke abruptly turned back towards little Gray, who stared at him with his childish, confused onyx eyes.

"What's wrong, Loke?" asked little Gray, now with his usual childish tone. The spirit blinked, realizing that he had been staring at the little boy. It must have looked weird.

"Eh, err… did you say something, Gray?" asked Loke stiffly.

Gray, with confusion still in his eyes, replied slowly, "Um… What should I make next?" Loke shook his head.

"No, that's not it. It's… uh, did you call me 'dude' just now?"

Little Gray blinked in response. "What do you mean?"

Again, Loke stared at the little boy suspiciously, searching for any clue that indicated that the boy was lying. But he didn't see any sign, only that this little boy really didn't know anything. Dumbfounded, Loke scratched his head. '_Maybe I'm just imagining things…'_

"Um… nothing. Maybe I just misheard things or something. Well, see ya," Loke stammered and turned around again quickly, leaving a confused Gray behind.

_'It's nothing, Loke…'_ the spirit said to himself mentally. _'…It's nothing.'_

***Fairy**Tail***

Loke entered the guild again. He took several deep breaths, the conversation with little Gray still running through his mind. What had caused that sudden change in tone with the kid? The thought kept bothering Loke, even though he tried to shrug it off. As he reached the main hall of the building, the front doors swung open gently, revealing a certain Fire Dragon Slayer mage.

"Natsu!" Lucy exclaimed in surprise. Natsu walked casually inside, replying to the other Fairy Tail members' greetings as he did so.

"Yo, Luce. I'm home," Natsu said happily to the celestial spirit mage when he was close enough to her. His usual cocky grin played across his face, yet there seemed to be traces of discomfort and nervousness in it.

"NAAATSUU!" Happy yelled, intentionally flinging himself onto Natsu's face and hugging him tightly. Natsu couldn't help but chuckle at his blue-furred friend's behavior.

"I'm back, Happy. Did you miss me?" Natsu asked in-between laughs, after lifting the blue Exceed from his face. Happy put on his cute-pouting face.

"It was so mean of you, Natsu! Taking a mission without even telling me!" the Exceed complained. Natsu just gave him an apologetic smile.

"How was the mission, Natsu?" Mirajane asked after taking out her report book.

"It was all good, and everything got settled well. I can guarantee those pirates won't be back at that harbor for a long time," the S-Class mage claimed confidently. "They got sent to the Council's prison and the Council members said the same thing," Natsu continued.

"You did a good job, Natsu," the barmaid stated happily, writing something in her report book. "By the way, do you want a drink? Your usual?"

Natsu nodded, "Yes please, and thanks, Mira."

"Hey, Luce. So how've you been?" the pink…err, _salmon_-color-haired man turned and asked his blonde friend casually, as if he was only asking about the weather. Natsu might have looked carefree and totally nonchalant on the outside, but inside, he knew he was nervous and afraid of Lucy's outburst, which was no doubt coming soon. Lucy sighed contently.

"It's good, just as usual," the summon-type mage replied, turning her attention to her smoothie. Lucy's reaction was not what Natsu had expected, although it made him feel kind of relieved. The Dragon Slayer moved to sit on a stool near her.

"Hey Juvia, hey Loke. Just realized that you guys were there all along," Natsu greeted the celestial spirit and water woman cheerfully, who were sitting on Lucy's other side. Juvia nodded and gave a small smile to Natsu before sipping her tea again, while Loke sweatdropped at Natsu's greeting.

"I don't know whether I should be annoyed at you for not noticing me or not," Loke stated with an exasperated huff.

Natsu chuckled, waving his hand, "Aww, just kidding, Loke… just kidding…"

"Here, Natsu, your drink." Mirajane popped from nowhere and put a mug with flaming fire within it, Fire Whiskey, our Fire Dragon Slayer's favorite drink.

"Thanks, Mira." Natsu took his mug with a grin plastered on his face.

After that, they started up some light conversation. Natsu excitedly told them how he had done on his solo mission, about how he had beaten the pirates who were making tons of chaos in a city. Lucy also recounted her own solo mission, with Loke helping out on the details of _their_ mission. Mirajane and Juvia served as the good listeners. They had not mentioned Gray even once, too busy with other topics. Until…

Natsu's nose twitched as a certain scent hit his senses. At once, he stiffened. Small, light footsteps could be heard coming closer and closer.

"What's wrong, Natsu?" Lucy asked, seeing her best friend stiffen so suddenly. Her question was soon answered when Mirajane turned to open the back door.

"Can I have a drink?" asked the little boy, who was holding the doorknob for support. He looked so exhausted, from the way he was standing and panting.

"Of course, Gray-chan. You can sit there," Mira said, and nonchalantly pointed at an empty stool between Lucy and Natsu, indicating that Gray should sit there. Natsu twitched again, realizing that the person he wanted to avoid the most was going to sit next to him. Mira went back to the kitchen, humming a soft tune. Whether Mira was intentionally making Gray and Natsu sit closely together was anyone's guess.

Gray slowly walked towards the stool Mira had pointed at, climbing up to sit on it. It didn't seem like he had realized who was sitting next to him.

"Gray-chan, you're training too much. You need to take a break once in a while." Lucy frowned in concern, seeing how tired and messy Gray was.

"But Lucy-nee, I wanna get stronger soon so I can take missions like everyone else," said the little boy with a hint of boredom in his voice. Many other people in the guild had told him the same thing as Lucy, but he was stubbornly ignoring their advice. And slowly, he was getting tired of it too.

"Why's it so hot around here?" Little Gray complained. He resisted the urge to take off his clothes as he looked around, and saw Natsu next to him, nonchalantly sipping at his mug with a sour expression. Gray's jaw dropped open.

"What are you doing here, fire-breather?" Gray shouted, with a mixture of annoyance and surprise in his voice.

Natsu made an equally annoyed sound before replying to the little boy with a cold and sour tone. "It's my place too, brat."

"You're making the whole place hot!" Gray retorted, glaring at the Dragon Slayer rudely.

"Gray—" Lucy intended to calm the little boy, but Loke gripped her arm, stopping her.

"Hey, hold on. I want to see this. Looks like it'll be interesting." Loke winked, putting a finger over his lips. Lucy opened her mouth, but immediately closed it. It couldn't hurt to just watch, could it…?

"Will it be okay?" Juvia asked, with worry in both her face and voice. Loke waved his hand dismissively.

"It's okay."

"It's not my business, ice brat. It's not my fault that I'm hotter than everyone else either," Natsu retorted at Gray, sending the little boy his coldest glare. Little Gray clenched his teeth exasperatedly, eyes locked with Natsu.

"Here's your drink, Gray-chan. They say that berries will give you more energy. I added a lot of ice too, just in case," Mirajane said happily, reappearing with a glass of cold juice. But Gray didn't hear her.

"Ice Make: Hammer!"

A big hammer made from ice popped up from nowhere, floating above the head of the Dragon Slayer. Everyone was surprised, except Mirajane.

"My, my," she giggled calmly.

Loke smirked amusedly, trying to stop himself from letting out a burst of laughter. "Good, at least he's able to make new things with his magic now."

"Natsu's deeeeeeeeeead…" Happy chirped. His devilish side had awoken, and he found it funny to see Natsu being threatened by a little kid.

Meanwhile, Natsu sweatdropped as he saw the size of the hammer. It wasn't as big as when the old Gray Fullbuster had made it, but it would definitely get his head cracked open. Or at least get a lump. "Oi, oi…" Natsu started anxiously, but it was too late. Gray let the hammer fall and hit the head of poor Natsu, and the fire mage lost consciousness. Don't worry, he didn't die. Gray smirked in satisfaction for seeing his work.

"Take that, squinty eyes!" huffed little Gray, and he quickly grabbed his cold drink.

"Good job, Gray." Loke couldn't resist the urge to laugh anymore, and did so loudly, patting the raven-haired boy.

"Gray-chan, that's a bit too harsh…" Lucy sweatdropped.

"Juvia thinks it's cool." the water mage commented. A smirk played on her pale face too.

"Ara, ara…" Mirajane sweatdropped now.

"Mira-san, sorry we're late…" Wendy and Carla suddenly entered through the guild's main door, both carrying big shopping bags. "I went to go visit Grandeeney," she said, referring to Fairy Tail's medical advisor, Porlyusica. "And I asked her to teach me more about healing. I'm sorry it made me forget about the time," Wendy continued shyly, putting the shopping bag on the counter.

"So you see, it's not my fault we're late," Carla said in her usual critical tone, mimicking Wendy's action. "By the way, what's he doing down there?" the white Exceed asked, seeing Natsu lie unconscious on the floor.

"Oh my God, Natsu-san! Is he okay?" Wendy gasped.

"Don't worry, Wendy-chan, everything's just fine and settled. And thank you for doing the shopping," Mirajane said kindly. She grabbed both shopping bags and walked into the kitchen.

***Fairy**Tail***

I'm trying to tell you how other character's feeling about the death of Gray Fullbuster. But not all of them, just a couple of them. In this chapter I described Natsu's and for the next chapter iz…. ***. Err, I think it made my story turned slower. So please forgive me for that… ^^"

So, what do you think now? Do you find the new mystery I mentioned before? More mystery? More curious? More rambling? Say anything after click the 'Review'

*Tell Me Everything*Review*ginhtyrevE eM lleT*


	9. Chapter 9 Investigation, Discovery

Hello… I'm here again (*literally) and I present you the 9th chapter of Once Again, Live~~~ ^^ I'm so sorry again for the late. It had been what? 10 days? Sorry… sorry… DX. My reason? Well, what else? School. That troublesome yet fun place

Maybe you've known it already but, it's a big thanks to my beta reader, _**Kairaita**_. Yeah, Kai! Let's do it until the end! ^^

**Random thing!** Flare Corona, I recently like her and also her name. She was freak, and I like that kind of freak woman. Though I don't like her magic much, it was scary, (*hair… *shiver) However, I'll add her in one of my favorite female chara list, LoL, what a taste. And… yeah, she was a cheater, sigh…

Let me reply these reviews since I really loved it XD. But you can skip in reading it if you want, this time is kind of long X9.

**Yin005**: Hehehe… it's so fun making you guys curious =9 But don't worry, from this chapter slowly… pretty slowly, I'll reveal the whole mysteries one by one and of course, slowly and slowly and slowly XD. Keep reading and rewiew… XD

**Rewinsan**: Really? You found it fun to be read? Owwhh… you don't know how happy I am in knowing that… X9 Yep, tebakanmu cukup tepat. Tapi aku tekankan satu hal aja, yang berubah itu _nada bicara_ Gray, suara sih tetap suara Gray-chan… Ya, chapter 270… HIRO MASHIMA! YOU'RE SO CRUEL TO GRAY! Entah kenapa aku merasa Gray itu di-anak-tiri-kan di Fairy Tail, (*hiks, hisk) dia cuman selalu melawan musuh-musuh level 'ikan teri', adegan action dia dapat jatah paling pendek. Yang dapat lawan 'seru' selalu Natsu dan Erza (*kadang-kadang tokoh utama itu menyebalkan =3=) Padahal teknik bertarung Gray itu lebih bagus dari yang lainnya, kan? Dia bisa menyerang dan bertahan. Nggak kaya' Natsu yang kebanyakan cuman menyerang atau Erza (*Ups, maaf nih buat fans Natsu atau Erza, no offense, okay? Please.). And, 'ya' lagi! Gray punya teknik terkuat, Ice Shell yang bisa membekukan satu kota sekaligus, hebat kan? (*walau nantinya dia harus 'mati' "==a) Wah, jadi curhat kepanjangan nih… maaf Rewinsan… sekarang silahkan dibaca ceritanya dan tinggalkan review, okay…? Hehe…

**Spring Breeze**: Yeah… making Gray got the first or second position in his first battle wouldn't look good too, indeed. The plot would be ruined and Gray (and Fairy Tail) would be 'Mary sue' (*is it the right word? =P) Nevertheless, making him got the _last_ position and making him look like and _idiot_ during the hide-and-seek game? That's too much! XC I also hope something like that. Let's pray that Hiro Mashima is planning something 'big and awesome' for Gray X9. Ah… you noticed it? I even didn't realize it until I read the review! LoL. Sorry, I'll fix it next time XD

**Lost Canvas**: YEAH! Gray isn't a loser! Not at all! X( And yeah again for his Ice Shell that could freeze even a big monster like Deliora! (*though I don't know whether Gray could do it or not. It was Ur who sealed Deliora, right? LoL) I agree, Gray's technique was more well-balance. He battled with attacking and also defending, not like other characters who just kept attacking and attacking and attacking (*no offense X() I cannot wait to read the next chapter about Gray again XD. Okay, let's leave this kind of annoying chapter 270, review… tee hee… don't worry… don't worry… that's the last mystery for this story—I hope :9 Btw, I'm glad you like the chapter. And I also like GrayxLoke, whether as close friend or brother (*sometimes yaoi XD) . They both were cool! Because of that I gave Loke bigger role ^^

**Laila Yagami**: Hehehe… just wait and see- I mean, _read_. Actually that voice is just a sudden idea that popped in my head. Well, nevermind it. Anyway… RnR~~ ^^

**GrayFullbusterisMine**: Tee hee.. thank you… thank you… anyway, I think the reason will be revealed in the next next next chapter away, duh I don't know myself. Aww… I'm happy being your inspiration source since usually I'm not too good with it. LoL. Of course I'll read your story! Gruvia? Kyaa! Finally! Gruvia is kind of rare. The one who cared about this pairing mostly are European (*they write it in France or Spanish or Germany, I can't read them even though I want! XC) I'll wait for your story~~~ I'm also wondering, what part that gave you inspiration. Well, let's see… RnR.

***Fairy**Tail***

**ONCE AGAIN, LIFE**

Rate : K+

Genre : Angsty, Family, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Drama, Supernatural, Humor if I may add it,

Pairing : a bit of JuLy

Warning : OOC, Discontinue, miss-spelling and grammar (*had been betaed anyway, so I'm more confident with this chapter than the others ^^)

**DISCLAIMER,**

I do not own Fairy Tail characters. It belongs to Hiro Mashima. If I owned it, I would make Gray Fullbuster as the main character! (*well, at least give him more chance to show off since I think he doesn't have enough in both manga and anime. LoL. Poor Gray…)

Chapter 9. **Investigation, ****Discovery**

…_when he heard this voice, all of a sudden he imagined the smirking-face of Gray Fullbuster…_

***Fairy**Tail***

Loke couldn't turn his attention away from little Gray, quietly admiring the similarities with his old friend who had passed away years ago in such a horrible way. They were both at the beach, and Gray was practicing his magic again, busy creating many kinds of things from his ice. Now that he was getting better at using his magic, he was capable of making things like weapons that would help him when fighting, although he had never tried it in real combat yet. Gray could also make still statue of animals, buildings, and miniature sculptures of people that often he used to play. His first try had been to make a miniature sculpture of Lucy, which had looked so horrible and not like Lucy at all. Gray had to tell people that it was Lucy before the people in the guild would believe that it really was a miniature of the celestial spirit mage. Happy could not stop laughing for an hour knowing that fact, and in the end, the blue-furred Exceed had gotten a big lump on his head after Lucy had slammed her fist on it. However, Gray was still unable to spare his magical power well, making him exhausted if he used his magic more than five times in a row. Though it had been about three month, he was just a five year old little boy.

Meanwhile, Loke was busy scanning the little boy. His hair, his skin, his behavior, and mostly importantly, his face, it was all perfectly the same except for the lack of the little scar on the left temple that Gray Fullbuster used to have. The memory of the day Gray Fullbuster died couldn't be swept away from Loke's mind. It had never left his mind even after these long five years—no, for a celestial spirit, those five years had only been three weeks. How could he forget it after all? His closest friend during his time in Fairy Tail had died right on his lap, right in his arms with blood covering him everywhere. Gray was his closest friend, the best of all his human friends for his sanity. He and Gray had somehow fit together. Gray was… normal, for a guy. Not like Natsu, who acted childishly despite his age. Not like Elfman, who was always going on about being a 'man' and 'manly'. Not like Jet and Droy, who were too protective towards a certain female mage. Not like any of the other men he knew in Fairy Tail. Well, although Gray had that odd and kind of disturbing habit of stripping his clothes whenever and wherever, he was still much better than anyone else.

Gray Fullbuster had died, and now what? That little kid appeared and invited everyone's curiosity. For Loke, little Gray didn't just bring curiosity, but also a hope and excitement. At the first moment, he had thought he would be able to meet his old friend again. But as soon as it came, it was gone just as fast. Loke immediately learned that the hope could not be real. After he heard Lucy's explanation, he could tell that this little Gray wasn't _Gray_. Simply and absolutely not. So why did this little kid have the similar physical appearance and even the memories of Gray Fullbuster? Honestly, Loke couldn't explain it properly himself either. He agreed with everyone's opinion about Gray being reincarnated, but didn't fully believe it. As a spirit, Loke knew little about the souls of living creatures from A to Z, from how they started to how they ended up. And Gray's case was kind of different; more complicated, and it didn't fit with human logic at all.

For the first time since Loke had decided to watch over little Gray's training, he moved his gaze away from the boy, feeling another person's presence around. He was right. Natsu was standing beyond the window, both his eyes fixed determinedly on Gray, who was using his magic to freeze the ocean surface as far as he could. Loke silently examined Natsu's eyes and saw the loneliness there, as well as the feeling of longing. For several minutes, neither of them moved, until Natsu finally noticed Loke on the veranda staring at him. The Dragon Slayer mage turned his attention from little Gray—who didn't notice Natsu's presence—to the spirit, who had been staring at him with curiosity and a small hint of pity. Natsu blushed lightly, realizing that someone had seen him doing something that he didn't want them to see. Abruptly, he gave Loke a brief nod before walking into the hall.

Loke's gaze followed Natsu as he disappeared into the hall, still with pity in it. He knew and understood the Dragon Slayer's feelings because Loke felt the same: disappointed. He knew how excited Natsu had been the first time he had seen little Gray, and after people had spread the issue about Gray was reincarnated into the little boy. But after knowing the painful truth… Well, Natsu's feelings were obvious. Natsu avoided Gray, and had acted coldly towards him for the past three months in order to hide the disappointment in him. Natsu didn't want to look sad either, not wanting people to pity him. He acted tough, but was actually broken inside. That was what they called the pride of a man.

For the past three months, nothing too special had happened in Fairy Tail. People had adjusted to the presence of mini-Gray, so everything could be said to go back to normal, with guild members busying themselves by taking missions as usual. Natsu always took missions that made him spend long periods of time outside the guild, and little did people in Fairy Tail know the reason. Meanwhile, Gray was diligently practicing his magic, as he also wanted to take missions like the others. Gray also often challenged Natsu to a fight whenever he had the chance, though the Dragon Slayer responded to the challenge coldly, rejecting and ignoring all challenge he got from the little boy. However in the end, Natsu would end up unconscious since Gray would hit him with his magic. It was an amusing scene, and little Gray seemed satisfied with his work. Peace and fun could be said to have returned to Fairy Tail after the loss of their old ice mage, and a happy life seemed to come back into the guild.

Loke moved from the veranda and walked towards the beach. He was still so busy with his own thoughts that he barely paid attention to what Gray was doing. A happy life had finally come back to Fairy Tail again, and Loke rejoiced in it. But he knew they were forgetting something important: Gray's wounds and his past. The lion spirit was curious about those things. He'd tried to link together everything he knew, and concluded that little Gray had lost his memories from those wounds. Then, for little Gray, being the reincarnation of Gray Fullbuster had somehow helped him find Fairy Tail, the place that was once home to the old ice mage. So the question now was, who was the perpetrator of those wounds? Loke wanted to know the answer, since he would kill whoever had dared do such a horrible thing to a little kid. Other than that, he was slightly afraid that someday, that person would come to take Gray back, although the possibility was low.

In addition, another thing Loke was wondering about was the sudden change in Gray's tone three months ago, after Loke had given the little boy some advice. Although it had only happened once, Loke could not sweep it out of his mind. That tone really was _Gray_'s. The only difference was that it had been in a little kid's voice, but Loke felt like it had been Gray Fullbuster talking to him, not little Gray. And it bothered him somewhat. Another mystery from the innocent little boy. The celestial spirit sighed, as if every burden was on him. Then he took a breath and shouted to the little boy.

"Come on, Gray. Lucy will kill me if she finds out I let you train 'till this late, it's almost dinner time."

***Fairy**Tail***

"Hey, Lucy-nee, isn't that Natsu?" Little Gray tugged on Lucy's skirt. Lucy hummed and followed the boy's gaze.

"Oh, you're right, Gray-chan," Lucy replied. Indeed, she saw the familiar hair color that belonged to her best friend Natsu. Both Lucy and Gray were on their way towards the guild, happening to see Natsu near the church. At once, Lucy was able to guess where Natsu was going and why he was heading there.

"What's he doing there?" Little Gray frowned when he saw Natsu enter the church area.

"Hmm… I don't know either, Gray-chan," replied Lucy, despite the fact that she _did_ know. She just didn't want Gray to know the real reason. "Come on, let's hurry up and get to the guild. I want to take a mission, and if I'm late, other people will get the good missions instead," added the blonde as she pushed the little boy ahead, who still didn't move his gaze from the church.

"That flame-brain just got back from his mission, right? So why does he go to the church first instead of the guild?" little Gray asked curiously, with a hint of suspicion in his voice.

"Er… he's the kind of guy who makes God his first priority," Lucy answered randomly. Mentally, she slapped herself for the stupid excuse. "Hey, Gray, you want candy? You like the candy from that shop right?" Lucy asked, abruptly pointing at the nearby candy shop to direct the little boy's attention away from the church.

"Yeah, I want some! Come on, Lucy-nee!" Gray cried happily, and now it was he who dragged his foster big sister towards the candy shop enthusiastically. Lucy sighed in relief, thinking that she had successfully distracted the boy.

"Alright, alright, Gray-chan… now slow down a bit, will you?" Lucy chuckled.

However, the blonde had no idea at all that Gray had not swept away his curiosity about Natsu and that church. He did not believe Lucy's excuse. For a millisecond, he glanced back at the big church with a suspicious gaze.

***Fairy**Tail***

"Psst, Mira-nee, can I ask you something?" little Gray whispered to the famous barmaid of Fairy Tail. Mirajane stopped her current activity, cleaning the already-clean glass, and turned her face to the little boy.

"Of course, Gray-chan. What is it?" asked the barmaid, confused.

"But first, promise me you'll answer honestly, okay?" Gray said, sticking his pinky out. "…Let's make a pinky promise."

Mirajane tilted her head aside, even more confused at Gray's request. "What do you want to ask, anyway?"

"Mira-nee, just it, please…" Gray whined cutely, but kept his voice low. Even though she was confused and suspicious in her heart, Mirajane agreed. All she had to do was answer his question, right? What could be so dangerous about answering a question from a five-year-old kid?

"Okay, Gray-chan… I promise," Mirajane said, linking her own pinky with Gray's. She giggled mentally in amusement, seeing how small Gray's pinky was.

"But, don't tell Lucy-nee I asked you this, okay?" said Gray cautiously, his pinky still linked with Mirajane's. He glanced around and saw none around the bar except him and Mirajane. He looked for Lucy and found her scanning the request board. _'Alright, it's safe.'_

"Okay…" Mirajane looked at the boy confusedly. _'Why does this boy looks so serious?' _Gray released their linked pinkies.

"Actually Mira-nee, this morning I saw Natsu heading the church on the way here with Lucy-nee," told the boy.

With a jolt, Mirajane could tell where this conversation was heading. '_Oh my God! It'll be bad if he asks what Natsu is doing there. He'll find out about Gray, and he's not supposed to know yet! Damn, why didn't I cross my fingers earlier?'_ Mirajane cursed mentally, but kept that gently smiling face of hers straight—she always _had_ been a good actress.

"So?" Mirajane asked back.

"I'm just wondering, does he go there every day like that? In the early morning?" Gray continued asking.

_Mirajane quietly sighed in relief. __'It's lucky that he's not asking what Natsu is doing there every day.'_

"Hmm… Well, how should I say this? Yes, if Natsu's in the city, he always goes to the church," Mirajane said, carefully choosing her words. She didn't want to give little Gray any unneeded info.

"Really? What's he doing there? Is it so important for him to go there every day?" asked Gray again, frowning lightly. Mirajane giggled.

"I'm sorry, Gray-chan. But you only did one pinky-promise with me, so you can only ask one question." The barmaid winked playfully, teasingly wiggling her pinky. Little Gray's jaw dropped.

"What? Mira-nee, you're a cheater!" Gray pouted irritably. Mirajane just chuckled gently.

"I'm sorry, Gray-chan. That's the rule…" she winked again. Mentally, she congratulated herself for being able to trick the boy and avoiding any dangerous questions, and made a note to not make another pinky-promise with little Gray.

Gray was just wanted to open his mouth and protest, but he heard Lucy approach them.

"Mira-san, I'm going to take this mission with Levy-chan," the blonde woman told the barmaid, showing Mirajane a job flyer. From behind the blonde, a petite woman with wavy blue hair nodded enthusiastically.

"Wow, it's so rare for you two take a mission together," stated Mirajane with a hint of surprise and curiosity in her voice.

"You're mean, Mira. It's not _that_ rare for us to take a job together." Levy puffed her cheeks out at the barmaid's comment.

"Well, Levy and I happen to need money, and Levy doesn't have Gajeel to accompany her for a mission," Lucy winked at the now madly blushing Levy.

"L-Lu-chan! Don't tease me like that!"

"Ara, I see… Don't worry, Levy-chan, Gajeel-kun will be back from his current mission in about two days." Mirajane joined in teasing the solid-script mage, making her blush even more.

While the three women were busy gossiping about something unimportant, a certain little boy sighed and pouted since he didn't manage to get the information he wanted.

"Okay then…" the boy mumbled exasperatedly to no one. "I'll look for the answer myself. And it won't be long."

***Fairy**Tail***

In the early windy morning the next day, Gray scanned the whole guild, and found that the person he was looking for was nowhere to be seen. _'I know he's not on any missions right now, so does that mean he's _there_ again?'_ thought the little boy. He was sitting alone at a table near the bar chewing his breakfast, while the people around him were busy with their own business. Mirajane was with her customers at the bar, and Lucy and Levy were gone on the mission they took yesterday. The point was, no one paid any attention to a certain raven-haired boy. It was relieving for little Gray though, somehow. No one would realize it if he snuck out from the guild.

Gray watched Mirajane, and after making sure that the barmaid was busy with her customers, he climbed off his seat and slowly, carefully, and quietly headed towards the entrance. No one noticed him reaching the main door, so Gray quickly ran away towards the church. Cold wind welcomed the little boy as he stepped outside, but the cold didn't bother him since he had touched the cold of his ice hundreds of times. But he still wrapped his jacket more tightly around his small body.

***Fairy**Tail***

Gray arrived at the church, but saw no one around. He decided to keep searching, and walked further inside until he was in the main hall. He was amazed by how big and beautiful the building was, but still didn't find the certain person he was looking for. The church was empty, and it gave the little boy a somewhat eerie feeling despite the beauty of the building. He walked along the windowed wall, and found a wide graveyard behind the church.

Without thinking ahead, Gray rushed towards the area, hoping to find what he wanted. And he had indeed found it. Gray saw a silhouette of a man and a flying cat in front of a tombstone several meters away. Instead of walking closer, the little boy hid behind another big tombstone nearby. He had the feeling that he couldn't be found out by anyone or else his little investigation would be ruined, although he didn't know why. So the little ice mage quietly watched the two silhouettes.

"So he's here every day just to stare at a grave?" hissed Gray slowly. "So why does everybody keep it a secret from me?"

Gray was deciding to leave when he noticed how _different_ Natsu looked in front of the grave. Though the distance between them was far, Gray could somehow tell how… sad Natsu was, facing the grave. He could barely see it, but Natsu was shaking gently, as if he were about to cry. And the flying cat—that obviously was Happy—was patting his master's head in comfort and sympathy. Gray wondered whose grave it was that could make the stubborn, cold, and annoying Fire Dragon Slayer shed tears.

Natsu flinched suddenly, feeling someone else's presence around, and vaguely smelled a familiar scent. It startled him, although he doubted what he had found. _'Impossible. He wouldn't be here, right?'_ He turned his head slowly. The movement didn't go unnoticed by Gray, who abruptly hid from Natsu's sight. He was quick, and Natsu couldn't find anyone else in the graveyard despite his sharp nose and ears. Instead, Natsu began to think that he was just paranoid, so he shrugged his suspicion of people watching off.

Natsu and Happy continued staring at the tombstone for a long time, and little Gray started to get bored from watching those two. Finally, Natsu and Happy decided to leave, fortunately taking a path going to the opposite way from where Gray was hiding. Gray let out a relieved sigh after the two of them had gone, and slowly stood up and looked around. He found the area totally empty, so he thought it was safe to come out from his hiding place. Quickly, Gray approached the grave Natsu was staring at before. The tombstone was sculpted in the shape of a big cross—or maybe a sword. The tombstone didn't look new, but it didn't look old either. It was very beautiful, with carved reliefs along the edges of the cross.

A light wind blew, ruffling the soft strands of little Gray's hair. Gray admired the beauty of the tombstone, not bothered by the cold or wind. He wondered about the owner of the tombstone, so he shifted his gaze lower from the sculpted stone to a kind of board that seemed to have the identity of the owner on it. He stared at it, reading it, and blinked.

"What?"

Little Gray abruptly moved closer to the board, reassuring himself that he hadn't misread it or mistaken anything on it. He moved closer until his face was just a few centimeters from the board, and read what was written on there out loud.

_Here Rests In Peace,_

_Gray Fullbuster,_

_The Great Ice Mage of the Great Guild,_

_Fairy Tail_

_In his 19__th__ age_

_x766-x792_

"Gray Fullbuster…" Little Gray furrowed his eyebrows.

"Gray…" he instantly froze. And then the shock set in.

"Me…?"

***Fairy**Tail***

"This is the last tray for now; please take it to table number seven," Mirajane said, handing a tray with three big mugs on it to her little sister, Lisanna.

Lisanna took the tray with a cheerful reply, "Okay, Mira-nee," and left the bar.

"Ara, what a busy morning," the barmaid hummed, rubbing her arm and inhaling deeply. She had served all of her customers, and now the bar was empty except for Laxus and Erza, who were sitting next to each other discussing an S-class mission Erza was to take. Makarov was also sitting on the counter like he usually did, listening to the two top mages of Fairy Tail talk.

The front door opened, revealing Natsu and his loyal Exceed as they entered the hall. Both of them seemed cheerful and enthusiastic as they walked towards the bar, greeting random people along the way. Upon seeing his crush, Happy flew towards her immediately, leaving Natsu behind who chuckled at his lovey-dovey flying cat.

"Morning, Mira," Natsu greeted the barmaid, smiling. Mira smiled back as Natsu sat himself down on a stool in front of her, next to Erza, who was still deep in discussion with Laxus.

"Morning, Natsu. Have you had breakfast yet?" asked Mirajane kindly.

Natsu nodded. "I had some at home, but I don't mind eating more if you have food to spare," the salmon-haired guy replied cheerfully. Mirajane giggled.

"Let me see if I have any hot food left." Mirajane winked, and disappeared into the kitchen. Natsu's gaze followed Mirajane until she vanished and turned to eavesdrop on Laxus's and Erza's conversation, but a pair of soft hands covered his eyes.

"Guess who~~" sang the owner of the hands playfully. Natsu chuckled hearing the voice, and instantly knew who it was.

"It's obviously Lisanna," said Natsu, grinning. The hands over his eyes lifted, and Natsu found that a young woman with short white hair and big, round warm blue orbs had sat down next to him. Even after five long years, Lisanna hadn't changed her hairstyle.

"Good hunch," giggled Lisanna. "How was your day?"

"You mean how was my morning? Well, same as usual." Natsu shrugged, and tried to eavesdrop on the mages behind him again.

"You were at Gray's grave again?" asked Lisanna nonchalantly, though Natsu caught concern and worry in her tone. Natsu turned towards Lisanna, an innocent expression on his face.

"Isn't it obvious? I've made it a habit of mine," replied Natsu.

"You know, it's kind of… sad, seeing you lately," Lisanna mumbled slowly. But to Natsu's ears, it sounded as if she had only talked at a normal volume. As for his response, Natsu raised an eyebrow.

"You look so down and so un-Natsu-like. You're pretty quiet now, not like the old Natsu who always picked a fight with… with everyone," Lisanna finished. She had almost said Gray's name, but fortunately managed to hold it back.

Unexpectedly, Natsu let out a soft laugh. "I was just a kid back then, Lisanna. You can't expect me to fight everyone I meet anymore. I've grown up now."

"But being someone who's so gloomy like this isn't like you either, Natsu, whatever age you might be," Lisanna frowned. Natsu remained quiet, and Lisanna sighed. "It's been five years, you can't act like this forever," she continued in a murmur.

"I know…" Natsu muttered back, and turned away from her. Right at that time, Mirajane appeared with a tray of hot food.

"Thanks Mira," Natsu said, louder than he expected, and grabbed the tray from Mirajane.

"I don't mind doing this mission alone at all," they heard Erza's voice protest loudly, attracting their attention at once, and Laxus's voice replied.

"You might be really strong, but the mission's too dangerous for you to take alone," Laxus said strictly. "I'm ordering you to at least bring another S-class mage with you." Erza growled in frustration.

"Fine," she spat, running a hand through her long scarlet hair. Her gaze moved to Natsu next to her, chewing his food as he looked at Titania confusedly.

"Alright, Natsu. I'll take you with me," the scarlet-haired woman decided. Natsu almost choked on his food.

"M- me?" Natsu stammered, pointing at himself in surprise.

Erza nodded, "Yes, you. We'll leave for the mission the day after tomorrow. Be prepared, since the mission is considered risky,"

"What kind of mission?" asked Natsu carefully. His fear toward the pissed Titania had never changed.

"Just taking out a bunch of small troublemakers. I'll tell you the details once we get there," Erza answered shortly, but handed Natsu the flyer.

"They might just be a bunch of troublemakers, but they're extremely powerful. Don't get yourself killed out there," Laxus said nonchalantly.

"Alright…" Natsu said as he read the flyer. He couldn't really find any threatening danger from the mission, and thought he understood a little of why Erza was really pissed off when Laxus had said she wouldn't be able to do the mission alone. "I'll go," Natsu added, seeing the reward.

Mirajane didn't pay much attention to Natsu and the others, since she was busy scanning the whole guild. There was a slight panic in her when she could not find what she was looking for.

"Hey, where's Gray-chan?" asked Mirajane to anyone who could hear her. At once, they all turned their heads to scan the whole guild. But like Mirajane, they didn't see any sign of the boy.

"Maybe he's in the backyard again? Practicing like usual?" Erza suggested.

Lisanna stood up. "I'll take a look there."

An uneasy feeling came over Natsu as Lisanna went to look in the backyard. He felt like he knew something about this, but he couldn't quite think of it. There was something he had missed.

In no time, Lisanna returned with a worried face. "He isn't there either!"

Suddenly, Natsu bolted up. He remembered now: that scent he had smelled back at the graveyard.

He was such an idiot for not recognizing the scent and just shrugging it off.

"I think I know where the brat is," Natsu claimed. He stood up from his stool and readied himself to rush towards the church, to the place where the little boy wasn't supposed to be. "I'll go pick him up ASAP."

"Eh? Natsu, wait!" Lisanna called out. But too late, Natsu was running quickly and had already disappeared from sight. The people he passed looked at the entrance confusedly.

'_Just what is happening?'_ they thought.

Meanwhile, outside, Natsu ran furiously, cursing mentally the entire time. "That damn boy, what's he doing there? And how did he end up there in the first place?"

"This is bad! He can't go there, he can't see it yet!"

***Fairy**Tail***

To be continued… Hehehe…

What do you think? Is it good enough? In the beginning of this chapter I'd tried to tell Loke's P.O.V. so… did I do it well? X9. And also, from this chapter I'll start to reveal the mysteries slowly…. And slowly…. Yeah, I love to make my readers curious, tee hee. Well… nothing much I can say for now. Give me review, please…? They're like the fuel for my fire,

See you later and Luv Ya…


	10. Chapter 10 Vision, Makarov Knows

Long time no see, guys… hehehe… miss me? (#plak# yar whish!) hehehe… by the way, I'm so sorry for the late update. Both of us were quiet busy for this past a week. _Both_? Yep, they're me and my beta reader, **Kairaita**. And like usual, I want to say my thanks to Kai for beta read my story. =D

Well, to make it short, lemme reply these review first. Oh guys… I'm really happy receiving these reviews. Thank you ^^

**PurpleDiva888** : Haha… hello there~… but sorry for the late update anyway. I hope you're still alive there to read this new chapter XD About your questions… I think they'll be revealed in the next, next, next chapter X9 And… aww… thank you very much for doing those. I really appreciated it XDD

**darkangel1992** : Yea, Loke is in the second chart for my 'favorite male character in FT' X9 (*who the hell are care anyway? LoL) And I'm happy that you enjoying the story. Keep reviewing… XD

**Lost Canvas** : No no… it's okay if you complain or protest about things in my story. Like what I said over and over again that I receive _anything_, include flame. It sometimes might be a motivation for me ^^v And yeah, about Natsu vs. Loke (*what the…? =P) I admit if it more to Natsu because I like their relationship and I like making Natsu sad and down (*what a maniac, right? Hehehe…). But it's not like I don't like Loke (*love him instead. Gray and Loke, both are cool! X]) Anyway, for the next chapter forward, I'll try to give Loke a bigger role again. Ah, RnR… =D

**Yin005** : Hehe… even I got a bit dizzy thinking about the plot of this story, LoL XD Natsu is was so naïve, isn't it? Hehe…

**Rewinsan** : Aww… I could make them in character all thanks to my beat reader. She/ He (*sorry, I haven't asked whether Kai is a 'she' or 'he'. LoL, sorry…) gave me much helps and suggestion about the characters' reaction. And then, I beg you to not die before you read my story, khehehe… X] Ya, juga udah baca chapter 272. Lucy, sugoi! Tapi tetap aja… Gray kapan sih muncul lagi~~… (*pout)

**Laila Yagami** : Hello… hehehe… finally I'll start to reveal the mysteries. And whose grave it was? Of course it was Gray Fullbuster's… XD Anyway, keep reading and leave me a review~~…

**GrayFullbusterisMine** : Yo~ Ah… you read that? Hehe… I hope you like it as well. But it's too bad that maybe it'll be discontinue for the time being. I'm still focusing myself for this story. Sorry anyway… and for now, please enjoy this chapter… =D

**NO** : Woa… calm down, friend… I update, I update (*though it takes long enough of time, sorry ^^a) Thanks for considering it interesting, I'm glad that you like it. Ah, no worry about the words, your review is more than enough of motivation for me ^^/

***Fairy**Tail***

Genre, Rate, Pairing… I think you've know it already. So can I skip that from now on…? =P

**Disclaimer**

Fairy Tail is Hiro Mashima's. I'm merely a big fan of Fairy Tail (*Gray Fullbuster's actually) who borrow the characters.

Chapter 10. Vision, Makarov Knows

…_he can't be there, he can't see it yet…_

_***Fairy**Tail***_

A few minutes earlier at the graveyard…

Little Gray stood still on the spot. His eyes were fixed on the granite stone that bore Gray Fullbuster's name.

"Gray Fullbuster…" he whispered, and caressed the granite surface with his little fingers.

"I'm Gray… so, it's me…?" he mumbled, feeling totally confused and like he had lost his senses. Instantly, he shook his head to try and clear his chaotic mind, and pulled his hand away from the granite stone. "No… no, I must be wrong. There's tons of Grays in this world," Little Gray said to himself, mostly to calm down. "And he's probably just one of them. I don't even know if I'm a Fullbuster."

Gray sighed, and stepped backwards slightly. "But, who's this Gray Fullbuster? Was he a Fairy Tail mage?" he wondered. And then an image of Natsu shaking from holding in his tears while looking at the grave flashed into the raven-haired little boy's mind. "What was he like with the flame-head, if that guy cries over him? I don't think the fire-eater cries a lot… How'd he die? What kind of person was Gray Fullbuster?"

Little Gray spent a long period of silence thinking, after which he decided to go back to the guild and find out more about this Gray Fullbuster guy. As he turned around, he felt a sudden, sharp pain in his head. It hurt so badly that the little boy immediately fell to his knees.

"ARGH!" Gray cried in agony and gripped his head, wanting more than anything for the pain to stop. He couldn't bear it. It felt as if his head was cracking in two and like someone was beating his brain mercilessly. The little boy started sweating and tears of pain formed in his eyes. In a last-ditch attempt to stop the pain, he shut his eyes tightly.

There was a strange sensation. The moment he closed his eyes, the ground seemed to swirl away into darkness. But at the same time, he could still feel as if his knees were stuck firmly on the swirling ground. He could vaguely hear some voices. Voices that sounded so familiar. And those voices were calling his name.

"_Gray! Hold on!"_

'Huh? It sounds like Natsu.'

"_Gray! Stop talking! Virgo will help you close your wounds!" _

'That must be Erza-nee. She sounds scary and demanding like usual. But somehow, I think she sounds worried too… Huh? What wounds?'

"_Gray… please, stop talking…"_

'Lucy-nee? You too? Why does she sound so sad and like she's about to cry?'

"_DON'T TALK AS IF YOU'RE GOING TO DIE BASTARD!"_

'It's Natsu again. Hey, why's he talking all angry like that?

"_Gray! Don't act recklessly!"_

'Loke, he's there too?'

"_What are you saying? You won't leave this guild…"_

'Erza-nee again… Now I'm sure she sounds worried and like she's gonna cry.'

"_Gray… don't waste your energy, you'll definitely be saved…"_

'It's Loke again. Why does he sound so sad? It's rare to hear his voice shaky like that.'

'Why is _everyone_ so sad?'

"_GRAY!"_

"_Gray!"_

Litle Gray opened his eyes, panting. Cold sweat ran down his now-pale face, as well as his tears, mixing with the sweat. Tears of pain. The pain had made him shake violently. That vision just now felt so real. Those voices, the voices of people he knew well, he had heard them clearly. Somehow, it sent shivers through his body. Why had everyone sounded so sad, so worried? And not to mention the fear in their voices; that was very clear. Gray would be lying to himself if he said he hadn't been scared, seeing that vision. He really was scared.

Gray was sure if those voices owner referred to one certain person, Gray. But he wasn't sure if that Gray was him. Which Gray?

The little boy wiped his face with his sleeves. He was still shaking, and he had to resist the urge to throw up from the dizziness. The pain had been fading all this time, although it hadn't completely disappeared yet. When Gray lifted his face, he found that he was looking straight at the tombstone. Understanding suddenly shot through his mind. Gray Fullbuster. The Gray that Natsu, Lucy, Erza, and Loke had been calling in the vision was this Gray Fullbuster. Gray Fullbuster was once a mage of Fairy Tail, so it made sense.

Was the vision just now the time when this Gray Fullbuster died? The thought sent shivers through his little body. If this was true (and he didn't know why, but he was really sure it was true), then he was afraid. An eerie feeling attacked him. He felt as if what he had seen had really been his own death. But that was impossible, right? He was alive right now. Yet now, he wanted to know more about this Gray Fullbuster.

"Who's this Gray Fullbuster, really?" the boy muttered, after collecting his breath. He didn't move from his sitting position on the cold cement floor, still feeling too tired, shocked, and weak to stand up. There was suddenly the sound of rushing footsteps coming closer, but Gray didn't even flinch.

"What are you doing here, ice brat?" snapped a harsh voice. Gray twitched, knowing who the owner of the voice was. Slowly, yet confidently, Gray looked up. Natsu stood there with the strangest of expressions mixed on his face. Rage, tiredness, worry, and sadness. "Don't you know you're not supposed to be here?" Natsu snapped again. The younger boy lifted an eyebrow.

"How come?" Gray asked childishly, yet sharply. "There's no rule saying that little kids can't go to the graveyard, right?" he retorted, trying to sound cold and sarcastic. Natsu opened his mouth as if to respond, but seemed to be at a loss for words to answer. An uneasy silence fell between them.

"Who's Gray Fullbuster?" Little Gray suddenly asked, taking Natsu aback. The Dragon Slayer's eyes widened at the question. He didn't know how to answer.

"Wh- why do I have to tell you? It's not your business," Natsu said, keeping his voice cold.

"Our names are the same," Little Gray mumbled, giving a reason in his childish way. Natsu just scoffed in annoyance, not affected by the boy's adorableness at all.

"That's not a reason!" Natsu growled. He turned his head away irritably, and found that he was standing right in front of his friend's tombstone. At once, his eyes softened, and this did not go unnoticed by the little boy.

"Who is he?" the boy repeated his question, in a softer and more careful tone. He was still unaware of how sensitive the salmon-haired mage was to this topic.

Natsu caught the change in Gray's tone. It was more polite and innocent, not like his usual demanding and challenging tone, and Natsu couldn't find a reason to snap at him.

"I won't tell you, brat," Natsu hissed angrily, but his voice equally as soft as Gray's. Natsu knew he was starting to lose his cool. Letting out an annoyed sound, he turned his back to the little boy. "Go back to the guild. Or else Mira and the rest are going to die from worrying about you," Natsu ordered more calmly. To his surprise, Gray made to obey, although the boy let out a soft growl.

"Just tell me one thing about him," the raven-haired boy pleaded, his voice taking on more of a whining tone now. Natsu shot him an annoyed glare, hoping that the kid would quit asking. Unfortunately, he seemed to have no intention of doing so. Gray kept staring at him with his demanding and curious eyes and Natsu couldn't deny that it was somewhat adorable.

Natsu gulped. He knew Gray wouldn't stop bothering him until he got what he wanted.

"He was a mage from this guild, and he was my rival in everything," Natsu stated quietly. He took a few steps forward, and added something in an even softer voice. "…He was also the best friend I've ever had."

At that last statement, the little boy's eyes snapped wide open in surprise and disbelief. But from those words, a warm feeling suddenly rushed through him.

_'What's this feeling?'_ Gray wondered quietly, gripping his chest at the strange warmth. Even though Natsu was referring to his dead friend from those words, little Gray felt some sort of a happy sensation from them. As if _he_ was the one Natsu's words were referring to.

***Fairy**Tail***

Since it was autumn, the weather was cold and the wind blew all the time on that day. People would usually hide in a warm building, enjoying the scenery of wind blowing fall leaves along with it. But it was different with a certain little boy. Instead, he sat at the shore, on the sandy ground, staring blankly towards the horizon. The cold wind that would freeze anyone else didn't affect him at all.

After they had left the graveyard where little Gray had found Gray Fullbuster's tombstone, Gray and Natsu hadn't talked at all. One was busy with his own thoughts while the other was reluctant to talk with the other. To put it simply, neither of them were willing to talk to each other. Once they returned to the guild, Natsu took a seat obviously far away from Gray, after briefly telling Mirajane that he had found Gray roaming around the city square. Gray didn't say anything, just nodding in confirmation at Natsu's words.

Natsu then went to meet up with Erza and Laxus to discuss something. Gray didn't care about that much, since he had his own things to think about. In addition, the pain in his head hadn't gone away completely yet. So he excused himself to the backyard, saying that he wanted to do his daily practice, although actually he did nothing but sit down there. The vision he had seen—or heard earlier, it wouldn't stop ringing in his mind. The voices of people full of worry and fear. They had been begging _that _Gray to stay alive. But little Gray knew the end of that story already; sadly, Gray Fullbuster was dead.

Little Gray had no idea at all why he had had that vision. He believed that he had no relation to this Fullbuster guy either. Heck, he'd never even seen the guy once before. Gray became more curious about this Gray Fullbuster's identity. He had a feeling that if he found out about this Gray Fullbuster, then _every_ mystery about himself right now would be revealed as well. Little Gray knew that the vision wasn't the only mystery he had right now.

Hugging his knees, he buried his pounding head in them. The pounding wasn't intense, but it still bothered him.

"Hey, son. What are you doing out here in this cold weather?" asked someone behind the little boy. Gray glanced around to see who was there, and found Makarov walking toward his direction.

"Gramps…" Little Gray released his hold on his knees, turning his body in order to get a better view of the short old man. His head was still beating non-stop, but he ignored it.

"Something is bothering your mind, Gray-chan?" asked the old man kindly.

The little boy tilted his head aside, thinking. "Yeah…" he replied shortly. But he had no intention of telling the old man. Or… did he?

"Is that so…" Makarov stopped in his tracks beside the little boy. "Do you mind telling me?" asked the former master, smiling kindly. Gray looked at him with a thinking expression, considering his options. Telling him was a good idea, so that he could at least get everything off his chest. But at the same time, Gray thought there was some kind of risk. From the way Natsu had acted when he found him at the graveyard, Gray could tell that he apparently wasn't allowed to be there. What if Makarov was mad at him for that _intentional_ accident?

Seeing little Gray staying quiet with a blank expression, Makarov sighed inwardly in understanding. If Gray didn't want to tell him, that was fine.

"Alright, if you don't want to tell me, I understand," said the short old man, repeating his thought out loud. Just as Makarov was about to turn around to leave the boy, Gray spoke.

"Gramps, do you know who Gray Fullbuster is?"

This caught Makarov by surprise. His expression sharpened as he stared at Gray. The little boy was caught by surprise as he sensed the mood change, twitching a little and letting out a yelp.

"I'm… I'm so sorry, Gramps. I-if you don't want to tell me, it's okay…" Gray stammered nervously. He hid his face in his hands, afraid that the old man was going to explode in anger. But Makarov regained his composure, clearing his throat after seeing the little boy's reaction.

"No, it's alright, Gray-chan," Makarov said, calming the boy down. "But first, may I ask why you are suddenly interested in this person? Or rather, how did you come to know of his existence?"

Gray relaxed, lowering his hands. Hesitantly, he told Makarov about everything that had happened earlier. About what he had seen in the vision at the graveyard, as well as including when he had seen Natsu's expression and the tombstone. In actuality, he only wanted to tell the old man the big things he had seen, but every detail continued to slip out. It seemed like he couldn't lie or hold anything back from Makarov. The former guild master had some kind of undeniable charisma.

"It's always in my head now. I can't stop thinking about it," Gray complained. He was still sitting on the sands while Makarov stood next to him, the old man's arms crossed behind his back as he listened to Gray's story.

'_A vision about the death of Gray Fullbuster…'_ Makarov mumbled mentally. _'This is getting interesting. Is it a clue as to the whole mystery of the relationship between this Gray and the dead Gray?'_ Makarov looked at little Gray, who was staring at the horizon again. A few minutes passed in silence, and Makarov's eyes widened. Like a puzzle piece clicking into place, he suddenly understood. As the realization washed over him, Makarov's lips curved in a warm smile. His gaze towards the little boy was now full with the feeling of longing. _'It's a miracle, huh?'_

"So because of that, you really want to know about this Gray Fullbuster so badly?" Makarov asked. Gray's reply was a slight nod. "Then why don't you ask Lucy or Natsu instead? They would surely help you. Perhaps Erza and Mirajane as well?" he suggested.

Little Gray frowned. "Why do I have to ask them when you're here right now and you can tell me?" Makarov shook his head and let out a light-hearted laugh.

"I'm sorry, but I simply can't, Gray-chan. First, although he was my son—"

"Gray Fullbuster was your son?" the little boy stated in surprise, interrupting Makarov's words. Makarov let out another light laugh, facing the sea.

"Yes, he was, Gray-chan. But not biologically. I consider him my son because he was part of Fairy Tail. Here at Fairy Tail, we are family. You as well, Gray-chan. You're also part of this family, and therefore, you are also my _son_." The short old man patted the raven-haired boy's head gently, grinning. Little Gray grinned back and nodded gratefully.

"Thanks, Gramps,"

"Now, let me continue. I have several reasons as to why I can't tell you. First, although he was my son, I feel as if I didn't know him very well. He was a rather closed-off kind of person. Second, I believe that Natsu, Erza, and Lucy knew him much better, as they were very close in the past. And third, I don't have the right to tell you about this matter," Makarov explained.

"How come you don't have the right to?" Gray asked disappointedly. Makarov shrugged, recalling the time when they had first discussed the appearance of this mini-Gray with Lucy, Loke, and the rest. They had all agreed that it was best for little Gray to not know about Gray Fullbuster.

"But I can't ask them." Gray frowned. "I think Mira-nee and Lucy-nee are trying to hide something from me, and I kinda think it's about this. Erza-nee, I'm too afraid of her. And Natsu…" the little boy stopped for a moment, and let out a resigned sigh. "I'm sure he won't tell me anything, after what he was like when he found me at the graveyard place."

"Then what about Loke? Or even Juvia? You're close to them as well, right?" Makarov suggested again. But Gray put on his pouting face.

"Same as Lucy-nee and Mira-nee," he mumbled.

"Well, I suppose you cannot blame them though," Makarov commented amusedly.

"Why does everyone act like this Gray Fullbuster guy is a secret?" Little Gray asked curiously.

Makarov inhaled deeply. "Sorry, Gray-chan. But I have no right telling you that either." Gray pouted at this.

"You said we're family. How come a family is keeping secrets from each other?" the little boy protested. Makarov chuckled at this.

"Well, Gray. If you really want to know that badly, why don't you just look for it yourself?" A smirk began to spread across the old man's face.

"Can I? But I think it's something I'm not supposed to know about…" Gray's eyebrows furrowed in thought, while Makarov lifted his own.

"If you knew that already, then why are you still asking?"

Gray fell silent. Realizing it, he mumbled something like "Oh, yeah," with a bit of embarrassment. "But I'm curious!" the little ice mage whined. Makarov laughed at this again.

"If you feel as if you have a right to find out, then go ahead. Don't let the curiosity kill you."

Gray stared at the old man for some minutes, digesting his words. When he did, a smile grew on his face and excitement glowed in his eyes. "You think so, Gramps?" he cheerily asked, and Makarov nodded in response.

"Alright!" Gray stood up. "I'm gonna start looking now," he grinned happily. Makarov smiled, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder. With Gray standing up like that, they were the same height.

"Actually, there's something I wanted to tell you," the ex-master of Fairy Tail said. "Although I suppose it's a little late." Makarov moved his gaze to Gray's face, who stared at him in confusion. Makarov wistfully patted the boy's shoulder.

"Welcome home, _Gray._"

The boy blinked his onyx orbs in confusion, not understanding what the old man meant. "Eh?"

But Makarov just gave the boy another smile, speaking again. "I know you're there. And I know, I believe that sooner or later you'll be able to surface, though perhaps just once. I'll wait for that moment."

Okay, now Gray was really confused. He wondered if Makarov was talking to him, or to someone else who was invisible. Or even worse, if Makarov had gone crazy.

"Gramps, what are you doing? Who're you talking to?" Little Gray frowned, but Makarov only smiled again in reply. The old man then lifted his hands away from Gray's shoulder and turned around, walking away.

"Nothing really, Gray-chan. Ah, one more thing, _Gray_," Makarov spoke again, stopping in his tracks without even looking back at the boy behind him. "Five years ago, we saved _your_ belongings. I don't know what they were thinking, your team. But we didn't throw it away or sell it or anything, so it's in a room on the second floor of the guild."

"What?" Little Gray asked. He was really completely confused now. What Makarov was saying didn't make sense at all. Makarov glanced at the little boy with a smirk plastered on his face.

"I hope this will bring you some clues, Gray-chan," Makarov winked, walking away again and leaving the dumbfounded little boy behind.

***Fairy**Tail***

"Why is the guild building so big?" a little boy growled in annoyance, stomping down a long corridor. Gray was on the second floor of the Fairy Tail guild building, examining the rooms up there one by one. It had been almost an hour since he started searching, going through twelve different rooms, and yet he still hadn't found what he wanted.

After Makarov had given him some strange information, Gray couldn't stop wondering about it. Trying his luck, he had gone to the second floor right after dinner, unnoticed. He didn't really care whether the people downstairs would be worried or not after realizing his disappearance. Not yet, anyway. But today, he was going to find something out. Something that would lead him to the source of all these mysteries, to Gray Fullbuster.

"Thirteenth door," Little Gray said out loud, slightly exasperated by how long it took just to reach this door. The door itself didn't look very special; it was just made of a dark-colored wood with a copper knob. The little boy slowly turned the knob and opened the door. Inside the room, it looked like an old warehouse and it was pretty dusty. The only things in the room were several boxes that looked old and untouched. The room was small, with a big window on one side that was covered with a beige curtain. There was also a lamp, but when he turned it on, it was quite dim.

Gray walked inside, seeing nothing interesting except for the boxes. He examined the boxes one by one and found that it wasn't sealed properly. It looked like those boxes had once, or maybe several times, been opened and wasn't sealed again well. He peeked into one and found a bunch of old books and magazines. He picked one up, a hardcover book that he assumed was a novel. Little Gray was sure that he had never even seen or touched these books before. However, he felt as if he had already read them before. Dumbfounded, Gray put the novel back in its box again, trying to shrug off his thoughts about the familiar feeling over the bunch of papers. He moved on to another box.

The next box was full of clothes. He found many old boxers, trousers, shirts, and jackets. He paid more attention to a long coat, white in color with lines of dark blue along the edges. _'I know this, but… what?'_ Little Gray wondered, trying on the coat. Of course, it was way too big for him. He sighed and put the coat back in the box. Another thing that gave him familiar feelings.

Finally, he moved on to the last box in the corner of the room. When he opened it, right on top was a square thing. After examining it more closely, he noticed that it was a picture frame. He picked it up and squinted at it, hoping he could see the picture better. But that didn't work out, so he decided to leave the room and get better light.

In the corridor, it was more brightly lit and he could see it properly. It was a picture of four people, plus a flying blue cat. Gray could immediately tell that it was Happy. The Exceed was floating happily above his master's head, who was a boy with spiky pink hair. Gray blinked, seeing the pink-haired boy making a peace sign with his fingers and having a wide grin across his tanned face. It was Natsu, but why did he look so young?

"Maybe the photo was taken a long time ago," mumbled the little boy. He scanned the photo again. On Natsu's right side, he saw a red-haired girl wearing armor and a knee-length blue skirt. Erza, obviously. Like Natsu, she looked younger, but still more mature and stricter than the others in the photo from the way she posed—arms crossed around her chest and a small smile curving her lips. Gray wondered when the photo was taken.

"That must be Lucy-nee!" Gray exclaimed happily, seeing a blonde girl on the left side of Natsu. Lucy was smiling widely and showing her teeth, obviously looking very happy. Her right arm was squeezing the Dragon Slayer's shoulder while her other arm was clinging around another. Little Gray moved his gaze to the other arm's owner and again, his eyes widened.

Next to Lucy was a guy who looked about the same age as Natsu. He was tall and looked like he had a well-built body. His hair was raven in color and slightly messy, but it looked good on him. His eyes were an onyx color; dark and deep, yet warm from a smirk that was engraved on his face. The person had his right arm hugged by Lucy, and his other hand was shoved into the pocket of his pants. Unconsciously, little Gray touched his own face. He knew the details of his own face very well, and he could tell that guy's face was exactly the same as his.

"Just who was he…?" the little boy whispered to himself, feeling slightly awed by how similar their faces were. Gray kept staring at the photo, examining the raven-haired teenager closely. "Was he the Gray Fullbuster guy?"

The little boy suddenly jumped as a sharp pain shot through his head again, just like at the graveyard. "Not again…" the boy mumbled, putting a hand to his head and trying to make the pain fade. But suddenly, he was thrown into another vision.

_"Wow, it's so good, Reedus-san!" The eighteen-year-old Lucy shouted happily while looking at a paper of their photo. On the photo, there was Erza, Natsu, Happy, Lucy, and the guy with dark hair named Gray. Natsu peeked over Lucy's shoulder to get a better view of the picture._

_"Hey, why's the popsicle there too?" the pink-pink haired late teenager protested._ He looked… happier, and more light-hearted. This was a Natsu that little Gray had never seen.

_"I should be the one complaining about you being in the picture, ash-brain!" said a stranger's voice, for little Gray. _He was sure he had never heard the voice before, but it seemed like the voice was coming from _him_. Then he realized: he was seeing the scene from the owner of the voice's point of view.

"_Shut up, droopy-eyes! You wanna fight?" Natsu said, challenging the nineteen-year-old Gray Fullbuster._

_Bring it on, squinty-eyes!" Gray said, rolling up his sleeves, but then realized that he wasn't wearing a shirt._

_"I hope you're not fighting, you guys," Erza said, her demanding voice making the two boys instantly freezing on the spot._

_"Reedus, I like the picture very much. Can you make copies of it?" Erza asked Reedus, who nodded enthusiastically._

_"Oui, Erza. How many copies would you like?"_

_Four is enough. One each for me, Lucy, Natsu, and Gray. Can you finish it today?" the Titania asked again._

_"Oui! I'll give them to you tonight," Reedus said cheerfully, taking out his drawing tools._

_"Wait! I don't want something that has anything to do with this ice-head!" Natsu protested again, pointing at Gray with his finger. Gray exasperatedly shoved Natsu's hand away._

_"It's not like I like it either, volcano! I don't want anything that has your stupid face in it!" Gray snapped back. Lucy sighed tiredly, seeing the behavior of her male friends._

_In the end, Gray kept the picture and framed it neatly._

Back in reality, the little Gray had sat down, leaning against the wall. He was still holding his head and opened his eyes, realizing that he was panting slightly. The little boy looked around and found that the corridor was still empty. He stared at the old framed photo in his hand, and decided to take the paper out of its frame.

"So, he's Gray Fullbuster…"

***Fairy**Tail***

So then… did you enjoy the chapter? Ah, I believe that you'd found out about the relationship between little Gray and Gray Fullbuster. I think I gave you a clear clue here already… 'o'

Hmm… what else…? OH! Well… I think this chapter isn't too twisty… but I like the last part about Team Natsu's past and the photo. Both of them were so cute, saying they didn't need it while actually they kept the photo well in the end. Hehehe…

Well… see you in the next chapter… hope you still willing to read my story (^^)/

Oh yeah, one more thing. Please leave a review whenever you read my stories so I'll know whether I should continue it or not. You know, it's so rare for me to check my mail so I have no idea if you like my story or not, even though you send an alert. (*Hm… I sound kind of arrogant here. Oopss… sorry guys… ^^")

Review, Okay?


	11. Chapter 11 Truth, Nightmare

The eleventh chapter is here… thanks for waiting and sorry for the late. I just finished my mid-term test, practice for art-and-culture project and then making a video for English task. That was a pretty busy week. Actually I can publish it faster than this (*maybe at Saturday or Sunday since I received the betaed file at Friday) but considering my school and all, well… this is the best I can do.

Thanks for** Kairaita **for betaing this chapter *bow* If you guys find some mistakes in my author note, blame me. I ain't English speaker. Okay, now for the review. Kyyaaa! Thanks so much! XD

**Lost Canvas** : Thank you… thank you for the review (n_n) *bow. And yeah, I won't stop. As long as this damn old PC still willingly to cooperate with me XC And for question number two, yeah. Master did know everything already. Just how genius he was, huh? =9 And for point number three, hu uh… sorry there… I also admit that it's too… plain ^^'

**Mokona Storm** : Tee hee… glad it caught your interest. I hope you also like the rest of it ^^

**Terumi Okino** : Thank you… this is the next chapter, enjoy~~~… ^^

**PurpleDiva888** : Thanks for waiting and also the review… and, yea, it's something like that. But sorry for making you wait long ^^'

**Laila Yagami** : Hehehe… thanks for the review… and keep reading… ^^b

**Kuzz** : Yeah, I wanted to try something different. Beside, I'm not too good in making romance and friendship =9 Thanks so much for the review… ^w^

**Rewinsan** : Aww… yeah, I just realized it that Little Gray's vision was same as Harry Potter, how silly of me XD But maybe I'm indirectly inspired by that part. If in the previous chapter I rained you all with mysteries, then in this chapter forward I'll slowly feed you with the resolutions, remember: Slowly. Hu uh… it must be really hard for a little kid to bear such an awful burden *nod nod* Here's the update and thanks for the review…

**NO** : Tee hee… Makarov sure held an important role here, don't you think? X3 Here's the update anyway. And thanks so much for the review…

**Yin005** : Hehe… yeah, I also hate having a headache =9 But it will look cooler if someone suffer the pain every time they get something such as an important vision, khehehehe… XD It's my favorite part, too, the last part. Their high-ego sometimes looked so adorable. Enjoy this chapter too and review… X3

**Foxeyes13** : Okay… okay… I'll write about Gray Fullbuster soon, but sorry, not in this chapter, so be patience again, please, okay? ^^"Thanks for the review… I'll try my best =3

**GrayFullbusterisMine** : Hehehe… thanks for the review… and for the request. I'll try to make some Gruvia though I can't promise it since 'romance' isn't the important genre here =9 Hope you like this chapter…

**Joey103** : oooooookkkkayyyy… I'll update as fast as I can X3 I'm glad you like the story and hope you like this chapter, too =D

***Fairy**Tail***

**Rate**: T+ (?) or semi-M for the violence in the end

**Genre**: Family, Supernatural, Drama, Angsty… what else?

**Disclaimer**

Fairy Tail and its characters are Hiro Mashima-sensei's, not me.

Chapter 11. Truth, Nightmare

…_so, he's Gray Fullbuster…_

***Fairy**Tail***

Natsu looked around, searching for the presence of a certain little boy. He couldn't find him in this big hall. How strange. The Dragon Slayer could still smell the boy's scent, so he should be inside the guild, right? He doubted that little Gray was outside—at his usual training place—this late at night. It wasn't like he _cared_… was it? Natsu always ignored the presence of the little boy, acting like he hated him. But deep down inside, he knew that he was—slowly—starting to care about little Gray, whether it was because of his similarities with his long-dead friend or because of another reason.

Just before he could ask Mirajane about where the little boy was, Erza's cough interrupted him.

"Natsu, are you even listening to me?" Erza cleared her throat exasperatedly. Natsu jumped, remembering that he was supposed to be discussing their mission for the day after tomorrow. While Erza was busy explaining her plan, he had been busy daydreaming instead. It pissed off the Titania. And pissing her off surely meant death.

_'Damn that boy…'_ Natsu cursed inwardly.

"S-sorry, Erza," Natsu stuttered. Erza sighed tiredly and decided to not 'punish' Natsu. She was not in the mood.

"Like I said, this mission is to capture some human traffickers in the land of Vangle, outside of Fiore," Erza explained.

"We're going out of the country? That far?" Natsu's eyes widened in horror. A faraway place meant a long time in a vehicle. And a long time in a vehicle meant a long torture for Natsu Dragneel. "Er… Are we walking there?" he asked hesitantly. Erza's eyes widened in surprise.

"Are you crazy? It'll take months to walk there. No, we'll be going by train, and then by carriage. It will be much faster, and only take about a day," Erza stated, ignoring Natsu's pale face.

Natsu let out a whimper, but reluctantly agreed with the armored-woman.

"On another note, I have heard that these human traffickers are powerful mages. So although the both of us are S-class mages, we must be cautious," Erza warned, her tone and face both serious. But the salmon-haired man let out a smirk instead.

"Okay, okay, Erza, I'll be careful," he said. Erza nodded in reply.

"It's late already, let's discuss this tomorrow instead." Erza stood up as she massaged her temple tiredly.

Nastu nodded. "Sure." Erza then walked toward the bar, leaving Natsu alone at their table.

The Dragon Slayer sighed in boredom. Really, he had nothing to do now. There was no one he could challenge to a fight, and no brawl to join in on. He didn't even have someone fun to chat with. The guild was currently almost empty because most of the members had gone home. Natsu scanned the almost empty guild and saw only a few people like Cana, Laki, the three Strauss siblings, Erza, and some other mages at a table near the bar. He also saw Jet and Droy sulking at another table because Levy hadn't invited them on her mission with Lucy. But despite the few people, Natsu still couldn't find the raven-haired little boy anywhere. He started to worry a little—although he would never admit it out loud—because surely it was past the kid's bedtime.

"Natsuuuu~!" shouted Happy as he flew towards his master. The latter looked up and saw his Exceed floating in midair. "Hoaa…" Happy yawned and landed on Natsu's head. "I'm so bored…"

"Yeah, I know…" Natsu agreed, yawning as well. "Nothing interesting's happening…"

"We're home~~" a slightly tired sounding female voice shouted. Natsu and Happy looked to where the voice had come from to find Lucy and Levy walking towards the bar. They looked tired but excited, and it seemed like they had enjoyed their mission.

"Welcome back," Mirajane said to the duo warmly. Natsu didn't pay much attention to the girls' conversation, since his eyes had landed on a little boy running downstairs from the second floor holding something. Wait, the second floor?

***Fairy**Tail***

'_This Gray Fullbuster looks like me but he's older…' _Little Gray thought as he examined the piece of paper in his hand, leaving the frame on the floor. He stood up and began to walk towards the stairs. When he was within sight of the guild's front doors, he immediately saw Lucy and Levy entering the guild and approaching the bar.

"That's Lucy-nee!" he exclaimed happily, unconsciously jumping in delight and running downstairs to welcome his foster sister. Gray was still holding the picture tightly when he rushed towards the blonde mage.

"Hello, Gray-chan… I'm home," Lucy giggled when little Gray jumped up, hugging her briefly.

"You're late!" the little boy accused, pouting after he released the hug and looked up at his sister-figure.

"Hehe… Sorry, Gray-chan. It's just that we found an awesome library in the city we were in and we didn't notice the time, so we missed the train. But fortunately we were able to catch the last train," Lucy told to both Gray and Mirajane. Levy was chuckling sheepishly behind her.

***Fairy**Tail***

That little boy approached Lucy and hugged her briefly, yet tightly. Lucy giggled at the action and continued to chat with the others as Natsu approached the blonde as well, intentionally walking behind the boy. As he drew closer, Natsu could hear little Gray talking enthusiastically.

"Hey, hey, Lucy-nee, guess what I fo—…" Gray stopped mid-sentence and mid-movement, looking like he had been about to take out the paper he had been holding from the beginning. For a second he froze and behind him, Natsu couldn't tear his gaze away from the piece of paper little Gray held behind his back. He wondered what it was.

"'Guess what', Gray-chan?" Lucy asked confusedly, staring at the still frozen kid along with the other women still around the bar—Mirajane, Levy, and Erza. As if being woken up from a trance, little Gray blinked.

"Um…" he mumbled, suddenly remembering that the people of Fairy Tail didn't want him to know about Gray Fullbuster. How could he tell them that he had been trying to investigate and discover more about this person?

"Err, n-nothing. I—…" Gray stuttered, abruptly trying to hide the paper in his back pocket. But to his surprise, the paper was suddenly grabbed from his hand in a flash. Gray quickly turned around to find none other than Natsu holding his paper and looking at the picture with several mixed expressions: surprise, rage, shock, unease, and longing.

"W-where did you find this? _How_ did you find it!" Natsu roared angrily, loudly enough to make the entire guild fall into a deathly silence. The other members' attention was now turned to the suddenly raging Dragon Slayer, confused and wondering about what was happening. Lucy, Mirajane, Levy, and Erza stared at Natsu with their mouths slightly open. They were surprised and curious about Natsu's sudden outburst. Little Gray blinked in shock from the sudden anger, but soon gathered the courage to shout back.

"None of your business! Give it back, flame-brain!" Little Gray tried to jump forward and retrieve the paper, but he couldn't reach it.

"Tell me where you got this from!" Natsu demanded even more loudly, oblivious to the people staring at him.

"Natsu! What on earth are you talking about?" Lucy shouted worriedly, seeing the behavior of both boys. Natsu angrily handed her the paper. Lucy saw the contents of the paper as she took it and gasped in recognition. She covered her hand with her mouth as a shocked expression washed over her face. Little Gray's eyes widened again and he didn't know why, but guilt stabbed his heart when he saw tears forming in the blonde's eyes.

"G-Gray-chan, where did you get this photo from?" Lucy asked shakily, looking like she was trying to hold in her tears. Erza and the other two women peeked over Lucy's shoulder to see the photo. Each of them had a different reaction after seeing it, but one impression was the same: shock.

Even though Natsu had asked him the same question just now, little Gray couldn't resist answering his Lucy-nee. "I found it in a room on the second floor."

"What were you doing up there?" Erza asked in a chilling tone, although she didn't mean to sound so harsh. However, the mood still made people shudder. Even Natsu, who a second ago had been in a rage.

"I-I was just exploring the guild and- and I didn't get to see the second floor yet!" Gray said quickly, giving the first excuse that came into his mind.

Erza didn't seem satisfied with the answer, but she took the photo from the still-shocked Lucy and knelt down to the boy's level, trying to act gentle and kind like Mirajane. "So then, what do you think of this picture?" she asked slowly yet seriously, referring to the photo she held. Little Gray bowed his head, too scared to look the Titania in the eye despite the fact that he was rather amazed at how gently she could act, not demanding like her usual self.

"Erm…" the little boy threw an uncomfortable look at everyone else who was watching them silently, wishing they would stop and go back to talking like usual. "I think it's a photo of you a long time ago. Because I think I know everyone in the picture except for that one guy and he looks a lot like me…" he said, trailing off and dared to look up. But he found that Erza wasn't even looking at him. Instead, the scarlet-haired lady had her eyes fixed on the photo she held, and a hint of longing was clear from her gaze.

For a minute, no one seemed willing to talk. It was complete silence.

"Who is he?" Little Gray asked finally. Though he thought he already knew, he felt the need to confirm it. However, no one answered him.

"Is he Gray Fullbuster?"

Those four simple words were enough to make everyone snap their heads up. Again, the little boy had shocked them.

"H-how do you know about… _him_?" Erza stuttered in shock.

"Um…" Little Gray mumbled, quickly trying to think of an excuse.

Behind him, Natsu gave an annoyed sigh. "Che."

This single word didn't go unnoticed by the Titania.

"Do you know something about this, Natsu?" she asked sharply. Natsu blinked in surprise and cleared his throat. But he didn't say a word, just desperately covered his hand with his mouth and avoided everyone's gaze.

"Natsu, say something!" Lucy demanded. The Salamander reluctantly glanced at the blonde before lifting his hand away to speak.

"He…" Natsu started exasperatedly, jabbing a finger at the little boy in front of him. "He found ice-freak's grave. Don't ask me why or how because I got no idea either!" Natsu continued, and their attention shifted back to little Gray.

"I wanted to know!" Gray said loudly, giving his reason. "I wanted to know why Natsu goes to the church everyday so this morning I followed him," the little boy explained in his childish tone. "And then I found him in front of a grave and he looked like he was crying, so I looked at it and it said Gray Fullbuster," Little Gray added innocently, making the salmon-haired man blush slightly in embarrassment at little Gray mentioning that it looked like he had been crying in front of his dead rival's grave. Natsu vaguely heard snickering voices from the crowd as well as Mirajane and Levy, and he turned even redder. But Lucy and Erza were too shocked to find it funny.

"You little brat!" Natsu hissed furiously, unconsciously stomping his foot in annoyance and in a childish way, making the snickering grow louder.

"What?" Gray retorted with the same level of annoyance, glaring at the Salamander. For a minute, they were involved in a glaring contest that in the end made a small smile break out even on Lucy and Erza's faces. The scene reminded them of old times.

"Hey, what the hell's going on here?" grunted a voice from the door. Laxus stood there, looking tired and exasperated as if he had had an exhausting day. People made way for him as he lazily walked towards the counter.

"Welcome back, Master Laxus. Where's Master Makarov?" Mirajane asked warmly, despite the previously tense situation. Laxus growled in reply and sat on the first stool he reached, not bothered by the fact that almost all the guild members were surrounding the bar watching a little boy and their resident fire mage in a staring contest.

"In a club on the east side of the city. His perverted side took over and he's playing around with those bitches," Laxus said, annoyance clear in his voice. Mirajane nodded, though her face had set itself into a disapproving pout.

"Make me a drink. Anything," Laxus ordered, and Mirajane disappeared into the kitchen at once. "So like I asked, what the hell's going on here?" he added loudly, making everyone's attention turn to him except for the duo who were still having their glaring contest.

"What're those two doing?" he asked, and at the same time, Mirajane came back with a big mug for the current Fairy Tail master.

"Gray-chan announced that he found out about Gray's grave and that pissed off Natsu quite a bit, so it ended up like that," Mirajane told him casually, pointing at the duo. The crowd around them nodded at Laxus in agreement.

Much to everyone's surprise, Laxus let out a chuckle. "Ah, I see… So he finally started investigating it for himself, huh? That's good."

"What's so good about that, master? Didn't we agree that it'd be better for him not to know about _this_ matter from the very beginning?" Lucy frowned.

But instead, the lightning mage raised an eyebrow. "And from the very beginning, I don't know why you were all keeping this a secret from him. I don't care what happens, but more importantly, I think the brat has the right to know." He lifted his mug and noticed that little Gray had been eavesdropping on the conversation for a while.

"So then, boy, what are you going to ask?" Laxus inquired bluntly. Gray turned around, staring at Laxus determinedly, and the older man unconsciously whistled in awe at the little boy's stare, appreciating the determination.

"I wanna know who this Gray Fullbuster is," Little Gray demanded. Everyone stared at him, yet no one was willing to give him the answer right away. Even Laxus just kept quiet while sipping his drink. Of course he wasn't going to tell the boy the answer. The decision was up to his guild members, since it had been their idea not to tell the boy.

"I don't get why you all keep it a secret from me! I'm a Fairy Tail mage too, right? So I should get to know everything about this guild too!" he shouted exasperatedly and demandingly. All of the adults exchanged glances except for Laxus, who hid his smirk behind his mug, and Natsu, who gritted his teeth furiously, hanging his head down.

"Just shut up and stop asking that damn question, brat! You don't need to know the answer!" Natsu shouted back, looking at the boy in annoyance.

"Natsu!" Erza warned, but Natsu ignored her.

"And how come I gotta stop asking, ash-for-brains? Don't say it has nothing to do with me! I need to know it. I have to! I saw that this Fullbuster guy looked a lot like me, so just tell me the answer!" Little Gray yelled impatiently. Natsu clenched his fist, taking a step towards the boy.

"Alright, stop it. It's late, and I hate it when it's this noisy on a quiet night," Laxus said, breaking up their argument by clapping his hands calmly. "You. Little boy. It's true that you have the right to know anything you want about Fairy Tail since this guild is also yours. And it's true that you have something to do with it," Laxus stated flatly.

"But I think it's up to them whether they want to tell you or not," he added, pointing at the members of what was once Team Natsu. The three of them gave him startled, disbelieving looks, as if they were asking he was serious. Laxus replied silently by mouthing the words 'tell him'. Well, he had been intending to tell the kid the truth from the start anyway.

"Fine!" Natsu roared angrily before stomping away from the bar, intending to leave the guild. "Just tell him or whatever, but don't ever expect me to say a word to him!" he spat, and disappeared through the front door.

"Natsu!" Happy cried out before flying outside as well, trying to catch up to his partner.

"My, my…" Mirajane sighed softly, a slight frown on her face.

"What's with him?" Little Gray pouted, eyebrows furrowing.

***Fairy**Tail***

In Lucy's dark bedroom, little Gray was lying on the bed alone, covered by a pink comforter. He was supposed to be sleeping right now, but his eyes refused to shut. He rolled over, trying to get in a more comfortable position. Lucy herself was in another room and Gray could see the light was on, so she must be writing. That was what Lucy had said. Little Gray knew that Lucy had another job as an author and didn't intend to bother her. But sometimes, Gray pitied and worried about her whenever she went to sleep so late, like tonight.

His onyx orbs wandered around the room before finally landing on the silhouette of a photo on Lucy's nightstand. It was another copy of the photo he had found that evening, and it was framed neatly and beautifully as if it was the most important and precious paper in the world. When they had gone home hours ago, Lucy had shown him that she had the same photo, hidden inside her drawer. Mumbling about how it was useless to hide it from the boy now, she had then put it on her nightstand again. Where it was supposed to be.

Gray Fullbuster. Now he knew a little more about the guy who had way too many similarities with him.

"_He was our comrade who died years ago on one of our missions."_

That was what Lucy told him. But a tiny piece of information like that could not satisfy the little boy. So then, Gray had demanded more information.

"_How did he die?" asked the raven-haired boy curiously. Lucy sighed, but this time it was Erza who gave him the answer._

"_He was trapped in the enemy's magic. Unfortunately, the magic killed him…"_

"_What magic?" Little Gray asked again, amazed. But Erza remained quiet._

_Seeing as they would not answer, little Gray changed his question. "What magic did this Gray Fullbuster used to have?" Erza and Lucy briefly exchanged glances before Erza nodded._

"_He was once a caster-type mage of molding magic. And his element was ice. Ice elemental molding magic." The Titania glanced at the surprised little boy before adding, "Just like you."_

"_Eh?" Gray blinked as another piece of information was given to him. "How come he's so much like me?" he asked. _'Or, maybe I'm the one who's so much like him?"

"_We don't know about these similarities either. Maybe it was just a coincidence?" Lucy answered, reassuring and soothing at the same time. Her expression showed that what __s__he said was true. Nevertheless, little Gray could smell the lie there._

_After that, Lucy and Erza refused to let the boy ask any more questions. Giving the excuse that it was late already, they said that it was time for him to go to bed._

So then, here Gray was now, being forced to go to sleep. He moved his gaze away from the framed photo as his memory of the evening came to an end. _Maybe that was the reason why everyone treated him differently, and why Natsu treated him so coldly. It was because he looked so damn much like their dead friend._

The thoughts never stopped running across his mind. He was only a five-year-old-kid and he didn't get why people would react so much to the similarities, but at least now he knew why they were treating him a bit strangely. It was because his face looked like their dead friend's. So there was no one to blame for the Fairy Tail members' reactions, and how Natsu acted towards the boy was understood by them. And Gray could not be blamed for having such a face. But yet, the little boy felt like he had been cheated a bit. Why had everyone in the guild hidden something so important from him? He was part of the guild now as well. And plus, it turned out this thing absolutely had something to do with him.

Sighing, he shook the negative thoughts from his mind and tucked the covers around his body before drifting off to sleep.

***Fairy**Tail***

'…_uh oh, it's dark again…'_

'…_I think it's that dream, where everything's black and scary and tight like it's gonna choke me.'_

'…_But hey! No need to be worried, Gray.'_

'_This darkness won't last long, right?'_

''_Cause like usual I'll wake up soon and then I'll be sleeping next to Lucy-nee…'_

'_So yeah, no need to be worried…'_

'_But- wait! What's this feeling?'_

'_I feel like… I'm being tied tightly to something… with something…'_

'_Both my arms, and also my legs.'_

'_I try to blink,'_

'_And suddenly it's not as dark anymore. There's only some kinda dark red light. I can see things more clearly now.'_

'_I look around and it's all empty. I don't see the walls. Or the ground. Or the roof. Um… am I even standing on anything?'_

'_I look at my left hand and it's stretched out and tied on some kinda wooden block.'_

'_Hey! Is it just me, or did I get bigger?'_

'_I blink again and look down. My legs are longer too, and they're also tied up.'_

'_Also I'm not wearing a shirt! How come I'm not wearing a shirt? I have pants, but the only other thing I'm wearing is a silver necklace. It feels cold, but like I'm used to it.'_

'_Did I somehow grow in my dream?'_

'_Dream…'_

'_Yeah, of course. It's just a dream. So it's not that weird if I suddenly grow bigger.'_

'_It's just… a dream.'_

"_Well then, boy. You sounded so arrogant there. It seems that uncle Furcasso has to teach you some lessons."_

'_There's a voice. I blink and, I dunno why, but it makes me shiver when I hear it. It sounds so mean and scary, but like it's trying to act nice, and that makes it even scarier. I lift my head up and I find that the room or whatever I'm in now is full of mirrors all of a sudden. My eyes widen as I see a man with messy black hair staring at me. I think he's surprised like I am too. He's not wearing a shirt, so I can see a dark-colored Fairy Tail tattoo on his chest and a silver necklace hanging around his neck. He's sweating, like he's afraid or worried about something. He's tied up on a big cross with a silver chain.'_

'_I know him! Because I saw his picture just two hours ago.'_

'_He's Gray Fullbuster!'_

'_What's he doing here?'_

'_I open my mouth to say something and he opens his mouth too. Is he gonna say something? I close my mouth to let him talk first, but he does the same thing like before. This is annoying! I try to move my hand around as much as I can, but the Gray Fullbuster guy in front of me is doing the same thing again.'_

'_I blink as I realize something. There's only a mirror in front of me, so it should show me, right? But it's not me. It's Gray Fullbuster… No, could it be…? _I'm_ Gray Fullbuster? No way! But it's just a dream, so maybe I'm seeing what the Gray Fullbuster guy saw? That makes more sense, but how come?'_

'_I look around the mirror room some more. There really are a lot of mirrors and I can see all my reflections from all the angles everywhere. And then I saw that there's another reflection besides me in the mirrors. A weird-looking man is standing in front of me, a little lower than I am, so I guess I'm kind of floating on this cross-shaped wood.'_

'_I look at his face and it makes me feel sick when I hear his voice again. He looks like he's trying to look kind but he doesn't and it's weird because he also looks mad and freaky. I feel like I'm gonna puke. He's too scary.'_

"_First lesson…"_

'_That man hisses something I barely hear but suddenly a big whip appears by his side from nowhere, floating. I gulp. I have a bad feeling about this.'_

"_Respect your elders." _

'_He smiles devilishly and at once, that whip flies toward me. In a flash, I feel it hit my arm._

"_ARGH!"_

'_I can't help but cry out because it really really hurts, and the voice that comes out isn't mine. But before I can realize what's actually happening, it hits again. On my legs, then my other arm, then my face, then my middle. It hurts so badly and I can't stop crying. I don't care right now though even though I never cry no matter what happens, but I have to because it hurts and hurts and hurts. _

'_Why am I getting whipped? Or rather… why is this Gray Fullbuster being whipped?'_

'_And why I can feel the pain? It's just a dream… right?'_

"_Second lesson,"_

'_I realize that the whipping's over, but I can't stop whimpering in agony because it still really hurts, it hurts everywhere. And I think I'm bleeding too.'_

"_Learn that I'm the God of this world. I control everything here, even the time. Surrender, my toy…"_

'_I dare myself to look up toward the mirrored-ceiling. Immediately I know that this suffering won't over soon.'_

'_Far upward, I see hundreds of sharp things. Like, some kind of small wooden-spikes and shiny needles. Thank God I don't see something more dangerous like daggers or even swords that must be much sharper than those spikes.'_

"_Relax… I'm not going to kill you for now. I'm just… ah, going to play around with you. Let you die slowly and painfully. Oh… I just love seeing people suffer."_

'_I shudder hearing that. How could he say that with such a happy face? What's that about being God? What's with the world? And the most important, why does he want to kill me in such a painful way? Is he crazy? Well actually, that's obvious. But still, why?'_

'_The sound of sharp things tearing through the air distracts me from my thoughts. In horror, I see all those dangerous things raining down on me and quickly shut my eyes tight, but I can still feel the pain when those things rip my skin and stick everywhere. I can feel a line of warm liquid stream down my legs, my arms. It's blood. I scream this time, as loudly as I can. It hurts. It hurts so much.'_

"_GAAAAAAHH!"_

'_I don't know how long I scream, or how long those spikes keep raining down on me. But when I feel things stop falling upon me, when I don't feel anything else hit me from above, and when I stop screaming, I open my eyes. The first thing I see is the guy who calls himself Fu-… Fur… Whatever! That guy is standing with a satisfied smile playing across his face. I'm panting hard, dripping blood and cold sweat, and my sight is blurry as I look at him. I bet I look really bad right now. When I look in the mirror again, I'm right; I see a bleeding man in the worst shape I've ever seen staring back at me. But that other crazy and horrible man doesn't show any sympathy. Instead, he looks satisfied and triumphant, like he did a good job on something.'_

'_Why's he doing this to me… Or rather, to _this_ Gray?'_

'_I can't ask him properly because my voice feels locked up in my throat and I have no idea why. Besides, I feel too tired to say anything.'_

"_Now, your third and last lesson…" the man chanted, a thin and sharp blade appearing in his stretched out hand._

''_Oh God…' I curse inwardly. What now? When is this dream going to be over?'_

'_I swallow hard as that man charges at a ridiculous speed toward me with his blade.'_

"_Prepare to die!"_

'_Then, I feel the worst pain ever across my chest as that crazy man slashes his sharp blade at me. I scream again, extremely loudly. My vision gets blurry, and I can only catch a glimpse of red, lots of red before everything starts fading to black. Lots of red… my blood.'_

***Fairy**Tail***

Since I start writing this story, I always wanted to write that dream part so I can tell you the cause of Gray's death. (*he died in a cruel and torturous way, yeah, indeed, I know it ==") Do you think the dream part was too violence? Tee hee… sorry for making you shudder if it's possible.

Please leave a review and forgive me for any mistakes…. *bow*

Review Please….


	12. Chapter 12 Happiness, Conversation

Finally! The chapter I want you to read the most! X3 Contain a scene I'd always wanted to write since I started writing this story XD

Sorry for the late anyway… actually I can post it a week ago but I just didn't want to. Why? Err… never mind =P

Let's thank **Kairaita** for this betaed chapter. She had done a very good work in making this chapter much better and also for being so fast. Thanks Kai~~~! X3

**Lisanna Strauss**: Thanks for the reviews Lisanna. Glad that it caught your interest =D Btw, why do you hate him? =o

**Lost Canvas**: Thanks for the review… and yeah, that freak guy tortured Little Gray in his dream was the one who killed Gray five years ago. You can read it the second chapter =) As for Laxus, I admit I have a little problem in giving him a role. Seem like I being so stupid making him a master in the first place *smacked by Laxus* Ah, and the scars… it's not it. They have their own story ^^ And I bet you'll like this chapter *how confident of me =9*

**Rewinsan**: Hehehe… kalau dilanjutin kasihan pembaca lain. Bisa mereka mual-mual dan menggigil sendiri. Apalagi yang nggak tahan sama adegan _gore_ =9

**Yin005**: I'm happy you think about those things that way. The dream part is one of the scenes I wanted to write the most. As for the another one is in this chapter. Hope you like it XD

**hurricaneclaw**: hii… sorry… don't yell at me… I'm also feeling guilty doing it to Gray… =3

**NO**: hehehe… thanks… and Gray-chan will get more answers in this chapter. _Only_ Gray-chan. Unless you can guess it yourself. Tee hee… =9

**Terumi** **Okino**: Thank you… thank you for the review… Err, since you cried so hard, do you want some tissue? =9

**mewsugarpudd**: Thanks for the review… I (surely) think you'll like this chapter then… XD

***Fairy**Tail***

**Disclaimer**

I wish I do, but sadly, I do not own Fairy Tail.

Chapter 12. Happiness, Conversation

… _could it be I'm seeing a dream in this Gray Fullbuster's _point of view…

***Fairy**Tail***

It was past two in the morning. In another room, a blond-haired woman stretched her arms to relax her sore muscles. She had been writing for almost four hours nonstop now, trying to beat her deadline. Lucy was working on her newest novel, and she only had a few more weeks to finish it. Luckily, her editor was a kind person who understood that Lucy was a mage of Fairy Tail and would never stop being one no matter what happened, so she never pushed her too hard.

Yawning, Lucy picked up her pen again. Actually, she wanted to stop for tonight and go to sleep, tired due to what had happened earlier at the guild. However, the deadline getting nearer and nearer kept haunting her.

"You need to take a rest, my princess," said a voice in concern. "Lack of sleep isn't good for your face."

Lucy turned her attention from her manuscript to see her strongest spirit standing besides her, his back leaning on the edge of the desk where she was sitting. The blonde sighed and leaned back in her chair, letting both of her hands fall limply on either side of her body, not bothering to put her pen down.

"I know…" she murmured. "I want to, it's just… the deadline is getting nearer."

"How come you need so much time just to write one chapter? You only need to write a few more pages, no? And your deadline is still about two weeks from now." Loke rolled his eyes. "Here, let me see," Loke nonchalantly demanded, reaching over to take Lucy's freshly written manuscript. But Lucy abruptly grabbed it with a yelp.

"No way!" the celestial mage shouted and hugged her manuscript protectively. "I've told you that nobody is allowed to read it before it's officially released! Well, except for Levy-chan, my editor and the publisher," Lucy said, glaring at Loke sharply. Loke chuckled.

"Relax, Lucy… I know that already. It's just a joke, you know?" the strawberry-blonde winked and shifted his pose to a more comfortable one. Lucy let out a huff, quickly hid her manuscripts into a drawer, and locked it.

"Thank you _so_ much, Loke. Now I can't keep writing," Lucy said sarcastically, and Loke only responded with another chuckle.

"You're welcome, princess. Anyway, why don't you let me watch over you while you're writing? So you can continue it and meet that deadline?" Loke asked, stifling a laugh when Lucy let out another pouting huff.

"You know full well that I can't write with someone watching over me. I need peace and quiet to concentrate, and your presence doesn't help at all."

"Yeah, yeah… All that talk about authors and what they need. And _you_ need a rest, after all." Loke rolled his eyes in amusement, just to tease his key-holder.

"Anyway, what are you doing here?" Lucy asked, taking more distance from the spirit. Loke shrugged.

"Just wanted to see how my princess is doing." He winked flirtatiously. Lucy rolled her eyes at that action.

"So, does anything interesting happen when I'm not around?" Loke asked nonchalantly, yet seriously. Lucy leaned back deeper into her chair, crossing her arms in front with a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Yeah, sort of…" she stated slowly, before continuing. "Gray-chan found out about Gray."

This information made Loke straighten up, yet his eyes gleamed with amusement. "Oh really? How did that happen?"

"Well… I think it all started when Gray-chan found out that Natsu always goes to the church…" Lucy started, beginning to tell the story.

"Ah, I see… Now things are getting interesting." Loke smiled in amusement, a hint of satisfaction in his voice after Lucy finished telling him. "So in the end, that boy searched for the truth by himself? As expected from him," he added proudly.

"You sound like Laxus," Lucy frowned, staring at her spirit. The lion spirit himself shrugged lightly.

"Well, what else can I say? I agree with Laxus. I don't understand why we keep Gray a secret from that boy," he said.

"Haven't you ever heard of 'mental-pressure'?" Lucy asked sarcastically.

Loke waved his hand. "Oh, come on… I don't believe the boy's that weak," he said.

"I guess so…" Lucy sighed.

"Hey, Loke…" Lucy called. Loke hummed, signaling Lucy to continue.

"About Gray-chan being here, do you think it's supposed to give us happiness? Or is it a punishment for us instead?"

"What do you mean?" Loke raised an eyebrow in confusion. Lucy straightened her position and sighed.

"Should we be happy because we get a chance to meet Gray again, even if it's in a different person, or should we feel guilty because his presence makes us remember our… our failure to… protect him?" Lucy's lips quivered as she recalled the memory of her precious friend dying. She felt like a loser who hadn't been able to keep her friend alive, and that thought always made her feel like crying.

Loke, however, patted Lucy's head gently. "I don't think it's a punishment for us, princess. Gray wasn't the type of person who would blame his friends for his death. Instead, I'm sure he preferred to die for his friends rather than let his friends die for him. And also, I'm sure Gray would hate it if you think of it that way."

"But… don't you think it's our fault that Gray died in the first place?"

"Lucy…!" Loke's eyes widened in shock. "We've discussed this thing a million times already. How many more times do I have to tell you that it's no one's fault he… he died. Well, except for Furcasso's. Besides, princess, like I said before, Gray would hate it if you ever think like that."

"So then… you think it's 'happiness'?" Lucy looked up at the spirit, who seemed deep in thought before shrugging lightly.

"I guess so. But the 'happiness' I mean here isn't the happiness from meeting someone who we think is Gray." Loke leaned in closer. "It's happiness that we've been given the opportunity to move forward after Gray's death. Gray is gone, that's true, but instead, we're given this little boy as a way to make a brand new start of our life. It's not good if we keep being tied to the past, right?" Loke stated in such a wise way that it made Lucy drop her jaw slightly. It was rare that Loke showed such insight.

"One more important thing, Lucy. That boy isn't Gray no matter how many similarities he has. Gray is gone, remember? Don't ever think of him as a replacement of Gray Fullbuster," Loke said seriously. Lucy just turned her gaze away from Loke, mumbling 'I know'.

Neither of them was willing to talk now. Until Loke suddenly stood up straight and turned still as if he were surprised by something. This action didn't go unnoticed by Lucy.

"Loke, what-…" Lucy asked, but was cut off as Loke put his finger over his lips, motioning the blonde to be quiet.

"Did you hear that?" he asked slowly. Lucy raised an eyebrow, but turned her head to try and hear whatever Loke had. It was barely audible at first, as if it was just a vague whimper, but within a few seconds the volume of the voice increased to a scream. A scream of pain. Lucy and Loke turned pale as they recognized the voice.

"Gray!" they shouted in panicked unison. Their expressions turned to worry and fear as they abruptly ran to the next room, fearing something bad had happened to the little boy.

Lucy ran toward the bedside while Loke turned on the light. When the room lit up properly, they could clearly see a little figure lying on Lucy's bed. But instead of sleeping peacefully as expected, something strange was happening. He was thrashing around brutally, and his back frequently jerked as if he were being impacted by something. His scream sounded like it was filled with so much pain, mixing with whimpers. Not to mention that he was sweating badly and shivering coldly.

"Gray-chan! What happened?" Lucy yelled in a panic, trying to get a hold of the thrashing boy, but to no avail. The boy's movement was too chaotic for Lucy to handle. "Loke! What the heck is it?" Lucy asked her spirit fearfully. Loke stood by the bedside as well, shock clear in his face as he watched the little boy.

"He's having a dream. A nightmare, to be precise," Loke stated stiffly. "It must be really bad."

"What should we do now?" the blonde asked. She kneeled down to get closer to the boy.

"Let's try to wake him up," the spirit suggested and Lucy immediately did what Loke said.

"Gray… Gray-chan, hey, wake up." Lucy patted the boy's pale cheek slowly but it was useless. Little Gray kept yelling and didn't open his eyes. "It's not working!" Lucy exclaimed worriedly.

"Try harder." Loke couldn't think of anything else but that. At once, there was a pause when little Gray stopped thrashing and lay there limply instead. His breath came in short and heavy pants. Yet his eyes didn't open. Little Gray was still trapped inside his dream.

If they thought it was all over, they were wrong. In the next moment, Gray began tossing and turning again. It wasn't as harsh as before, but it indicated that whatever was happening inside his dream, the little boy was still suffering from pain. His head jerked backwards and his fists clenched and opened.

"GAAAAAAHH!"

Gray screamed again, making both adults shudder. Lucy tried to wake the boy again, more desperately this time by shaking his little shoulders. Again, there was no result.

"Gray-chan… please wake up…!" Lucy shouted shakily. Loke attempted to give a hand in waking the boy, but as Lucy had tried, it didn't work. The spirit started to wonder about the boy's dream, but he could do nothing except try to help Lucy wake the boy up.

"What the… Why won't he wake up?" Lucy demanded in a panic to no one. Loke, with the same panic, mumbled that he had no idea either.

"Calm down, Lucy," Loke said reluctantly as he gently put his hand on Lucy's arm, stopping the blonde from trying to shake the boy to wake up him, as the effort had not given any satisfying results. "I guess we won't be able to do anything. We have to wait until he opens his eyes by himself," he stated. Lucy whimpered her pain at seeing the boy looking so tortured, but nodded nevertheless.

So in the end, Lucy and Loke were unable to anything for little Gray for several minutes. But eventually, they finally saw Gray relax a _little_ bit. Both adults breathed a sigh of relief, before they were shocked again by the little boy's loudest scream that night. They jumped up and at the same time, little Gray snapped his eyes open.

"Gray-chan!" Lucy called and hurriedly ran to the boy, shakily taking his sweaty hand. The little boy was conscious. However, his eyes still looked blank from fear, much to Lucy and Loke's dismay. It even took a few seconds for the boy to realize that there were other people around him.

"Lucy-nee, Loke…" Little Gray abruptly sat up straight after seeing the young blonde and the spirit. He was soaked with sweat; his shirt was sticking to his skin and his hair was damp. His face was as pale as a ghost and he was shaking badly.

"Gray-chan… Were you having a nightmare?" Lucy sat on the edge of the bed, placing a hand on the boy's back in order to support him. No one could deny that she was pale and sweating lightly as well. Loke was standing next to Lucy, staring at the boy with the same worried and shocked expression.

Gray moved his gaze from Lucy to Loke, looking like he was still confused about his surroundings. Until finally, a soft sob was heard from the boy's lips.

"HUWAAA!" Finally, little Gray burst into tears and leaped forward to hug Lucy tightly. This action caught Loke and Lucy by great surprise, especially Lucy. She couldn't help but compare little Gray and dead Gray, as she and Loke had never seen either of them crying, no matter what had happened to them. They always acted tough. Neither of them were the type of person who would cry, even if this little Gray was still just a child. Although he was at an age where children normally cried even at small things, little Gray never did. So seeing little Gray cry like this made him look so fragile. It must have been something really big and bad to make little Gray cry like this.

"G-Gray-chan, what's wrong?" Lucy asked, gently circling her arms around his little body and hugging him back. She could feel him trembling, whether it was from fear or something else.

"It… it hurts… so badly…" Gray stuttered, still shaking, and he buried his face into Lucy's chest while his hands gripped the fabric of Lucy's shirt tightly. Lucy and Loke exchanged glances confusedly.

"What hurts, Gray-chan?" Lucy asked, while Loke sat himself down on the empty space of the bed. Little Gray didn't answer the question immediately, continuing to sob into Lucy's shirt. The duo felt so much pity for the boy at that, so Lucy patted the boy's raven-hair softly, waiting for the little boy to stop crying and tell them what the matter was.

"I was tied…" Little Gray finally murmured softly as his sobs faded and his shaking decreased.

"What?" Lucy and Loke asked almost in unison, because they had barely heard the boy's words.

"I was in a room full of mirrors and I was being tied to a big wooden cross..." Gray repeated weakly. "But…" Before he continued his story, he pointed to a photo on the nightstand. "…I saw myself as _him._"

The stellar mage and the stellar spirit moved their gaze, following Gray's little finger and found that they were staring at the framed photo. A realization hit them; was it possible that little Gray had seen a dream of Gray Fullbuster?

"Then… then what happened next, kiddo?" Loke finally asked. Gray glanced at Loke briefly before tightening his hug around Lucy, and the blonde responded by hugging him back tightly as well. She was rather relieved, feeling the shaking almost stop now.

"A man… a scary man appeared and told me that he would teach me some kind of lesson. Then he whipped me…" Gray flinched and sobbed again a little while mumbling, "It hurts. I could feel it really clearly…"

The listeners' eyes widened in surprise; they hardly believed what the boy was saying. Was it possible to feel things in dreams? It was not supposed to be possible. This dream of the boy's wasn't an ordinary nightmare.

"Then…" Little Gray continued his story, unaware of the reactions of his listeners. "…he stopped whipping me. But after that he said he had another lesson. Something about him being the God of _that_ world. And then he kept hurting me and there were a lot of sharp things raining on me…" Little Gray flinched and tightened his grip on Lucy's shirt again.

"Do you remember what the scary man looked like?" Loke asked, his voice calm and casual as usual although Lucy saw a hint of shock and anger in his emerald eyes. Gray, his head bowed down, nodded silently before starting to describe the 'scary man'. His words made Lucy and Loke gasp in unison.

"Furcasso…" Loke whispered in a barely audible and shocked voice.

"Huh?" Little Gray looked at Loke questioningly. The strawberry-blonde spirit shook his head slowly and smiled a little.

"Nothing," he said, patting the raven-haired boy. Nevertheless, he gave Lucy a meaningful look.

"B-but it still wasn't over yet…" the little boy spoke. Now he sounded more eager to tell them about his nightmare. Gray shuddered again as he remembered the last piece of his dream in his mind, the most painful part. He could even still feel the painful sting across his chest, the place where the sword had slashed him.

"The last attack before I woke up… That man swung a sword at me. Right at my chest… here…" Little Gray didn't notice Loke gripping the bed sheet and gritting his teeth furiously when the boy innocently traced the line where he had been cut on his chest, where the scar was supposed to be. Lucy started to shake as well, the shocking realization hitting them both.

Little Gray had seen the illusion that Gray Fullbuster had seen when he was dying, the same illusion that had caused his death in the first place.

***Fairy**Tail***

"He saw _what_?" roared Natsu and Erza in unison, and Lucy abruptly put her finger over her lips.

"Shhh!" she hissed in a panic, looking around to make sure that no one heard them.

"Lower your voices, guys. It's better if no one hears us." Loke warned seriously to both S-class mages. "It's just a hunch, but we're quite sure about the truth behind it."

"A dream of the illusion Gray saw before his death…" Erza mumbled the information she just got from Lucy.

"The illusion that killed him," Loke added. "The kid said that the last attack he got before he woke up was a long cut across his chest." Loke mimicked the way little Gray had moved the previous night, tracing his finger in a line a certain way on his own chest.

"It's the wound that made Gray lose so much blood before he… finally died," Lucy continued weakly.

Natsu's expression turned wrathful, as did Erza's. "So, that was what happened to ice-brain right before he died? That's how he died, being tortured like that without any chance to fight back?" Natsu hissed furiously, teeth gritted and fist clenched. Everyone looked at him, but kept silent. Lucy bet that right then, right there, Natsu and Erza desired nothing more than to have a chance to kill Furcasso. But the council had already executed him first.

"Have you guys talked about this to the master?" Erza asked seriously that was responded by a nod from Lucy.

"We have," the blonde said. "And neither of them had no idea about what was happening."

"He's lying," Loke blurted out, turning everyone's attention to him. "Makarov-san wasn't telling the truth."

Lucy rolled her eyes at this. "Oh, not _this_ again, Loke!" she sighed tiredly.

"But-…"

"I'll give you catnip later if you behave! Now shut up!" Lucy shouted exasperatedly. Lack of sleep made her act almost like Erza.

"Okay… hey, wha—…? Wait, Lucy! Catnip? What do you think I am? I'm not a cat, I'm a lion spirit!" Loke protested animatedly. Lucy responded just as animatedly.

"So that means you're still related to a cat."

"SO, what is it?" Erza demanded curiously, cutting their bickering short. "What made you think that master was lying?"

"I know that Makarov-san actually knows something. And for some reason, he doesn't want to tell us," Loke stated.

"Why is that?"

"He said something about us having to find it out by ourselves," Lucy said. "And don't ask me why," she added, seeing the questioning looks from both S-class mages.

"And since this morning, Loke's kept complaining about master Makarov hiding something. It's rather annoying, you know?" Lucy continued with a huff while Loke let out a sigh.

***Fairy**Tail***

At the same time…

For the hundredth time that day, the little boy yawned. Gray was sitting at his usual spot, the beach that was Fairy Tail's backyard. He was supposed to be training right then, but he wasn't in the mood. All thanks to his horrible night.

Instead, he was lying lazily on the clean sands. The cold weather didn't bother him at all. He was feeling too tired and lazy to move. If someone saw him lying there like that, they would think that he had died until they saw his chest gently moving up and down as he breathed. Little Gray actually wanted to sleep, but at the same time he didn't want to. He was still afraid that he would have the nightmare again if he dared close his eyes. His eyes wanted to close in sleep too, but their master was too stubborn.

However, little Gray was still a kid who couldn't fight against sleepiness. After some more yawning and with the help of the gentle wind, the little boy drifted to sleep.

***Fairy**Tail***

Little Gray was confused. Last he remembered, he was lying on the shore. Now suddenly, he was dumbfounded that he was sitting in a big grassy field. It was still windy, but the wind was warmer and gentler. He looked up at the sun and his jaw dropped when he saw how big the sun was. Or… was it actually the sun? At the very least, it was round and shone with a fiery light. He looked around and was only able to see yellowish-green grass extending to the horizon. Where was he right now? Was this a dream?

"Finally, we get to meet in person, huh, kiddo?"

A deeper voice called him from behind, making little Gray jump in surprise. He glanced over his shoulder hastily and his eyes widened even more in shock as he saw who had called him. A man in his late teens was leaning against a big tree a few meters from where little Gray was, arms crossed over his chest. The man was shirtless, showing his muscular body and arm. There was a dark-colored Fairy Tail tattoo on the right side of his bare chest. He was wearing a pair of black trousers, and a silver necklace was hung around his neck. And his face… it was exactly the same as little Gray's.

Okay, now little Gray was sure he was dreaming.

Because standing there was none other than Gray Fullbuster. The real one.

"Y- you…" the smaller boy stuttered. Gray Fullbuster smirked slyly.

"I was always wondering when we could meet like this," he stated without shifting his position. "You sure look a lot like me."

"You're… you're Gray Fullbuster?" asked the little boy in astonishment. Gray tilted his head in confusion.

"Of course I am. Who else would it be? You've seen my photo, haven't you?"

"But… you're supposed to be dead already," Little Gray said.

"I am…" Gray said, and he unexpectedly smiled.

"So… uh… does that mean… I'm dead too?" the little boy asked nervously. Gray let out a chuckle instead.

"No, kid. Don't worry, you aren't dead yet." Gray straightened up so that he was no longer leaning against the true. "I'm already dead, that's definitely true. But I'm not in the afterlife or whatever it's called. Not yet," Gray explained casually, yet little Gray caught a hint of bitterness and sadness in his voice.

"Then, where are we?"

Gray shrugged, "I don't know what to call this place either. We're between the real world and afterlife world, maybe?"

Little Gray just nodded slowly at the information. "How come we're here?"

"I'm stuck in here," Gray answered shortly. "As for you… I'm not quite sure."

"Then how come you're stuck here instead of going to the afterlife?" the little boy asked again. His head was flooded with hundreds of questions now.

"Good question," Gray said in satisfaction. "You can say that… well, I got something to do first. Something I have to take care of before I can go."

"What's that?" Little Gray tilted his head in confusion.

"Sorry kid, I can't tell you. It has to be done _naturally_. If I tell you, then it doesn't matter if it gets done or not, it won't work." Gray shook his head.

"What? So that means I can't help? What if it takes a really really long time to do, like years?" the little boy shouted in disbelief. His adult self grinned.

"You can't help, even if it does take so long to be accomplished. If you found out about why, I'm sure you'd try your best to help out with it. But that way, I wouldn't be able to get out of this place. In other words, I'd be stuck in here forever," Gray sighed. Little Gray pouted at this.

"You talk like you know me pretty well," he commented childishly.

Gray chuckled again. "Because I really do. Believe me, I know more about you than you know."

"How come…?"

"Because we're the same," Gray stated solemnly. "Physically, anyway."

"What do you mean?"

Gray took a deep breath, and began his explanation to the little version of himself.

***Fairy**Tail***

"See…?" Gray said. They didn't know how long it had been since they met in this mysterious world, but Gray had joined little Gray in sitting down on the grassy ground beside him. The little boy occasionally kept glancing toward the (dead) teen next to him. While Gray seemed relaxed and was absentmindedly staring at the horizon, little Gray quietly admired their similarities. He wondered, would he grow up to be like that?

"It explains everything…" the little boy mumbled. Gray turned his face to him.

"Our similarities… our magic… those visions and dreams…" Little Gray murmured as he hugged his knees in a gloomy manner. "It explains _everything_."

"Yeah, I guess so…" Gray commented, knowing what the little boy meant. "I know those visions and dreams sometimes bother you, and even hurt you…" he said apologetically, unconsciously clenching his fist tightly around some wild grass and tearing it. "But I promise, it won't hurt as much anymore, although I can't guarantee they'll stop."

"I know…" little Gray sighed. All of a sudden, the little boy snapped his head up as a realization hit him. Gray raised an eyebrow seeing the boy's action.

"Hey, Gray-nii," the boy started. "If I can't help you with _that_, then how about you do it yourself?" he said as his eyes gleamed enthusiastically. Gray raised his eyebrow even higher.

"What do you mean?"

"Well… you can… take over my body."

Suddenly, Gray burst into laughter after hearing the idea of the little boy. Still laughing, Gray patted the boy's head playfully.

"Hahaha… Really, you're such a good kid. This is the first time I've ever heard of someone willing to give their body to some stranger's ghost." Gray kept laughing, and moved to ruffle the boy's hair instead. "You're an interesting kid."

Little Gray pouted at being laughed at by a dead person. "You're not a stranger ghost! Even though you're dead, you were a member of the Fairy Tail guild like me. Gramps said that everyone at Fairy Tail is family, so you're part of it too. You're not a stranger, you're our family," stated the kid childishly. At once, Gray stopped laughing and ruffling the boy's hair. His eyes widened, but soon softened and were filled with longing. Little Gray was still unaware that his statement had touched the heart of the Gray Fullbuster beside him.

"And you're not a ghost either. Just look at this hand," the little boy, still oblivious to the way the (spirit) guy next to him had frozen, reached for the bigger hand that was still on his head. "It's warm, while ghosts are cold. So that means you're not a ghost."

Little Gray turned his face toward the frozen Gray Fullbuster. Gray blinked and pulled his hand from little Gray's small hands while chuckling shakily.

"Yeah, whatever."

"So, how about my idea in taking over my body?" the boy offered again. Gray sighed while giving the boy another sincere smile.

"It's possible," he started. "But I can't."

"Why?"

"First, I don't have enough magical power to do that."

"You can use mine," Little Gray said innocently, cutting him off. Gray shook his head.

"No way," he said, in a tone that indicated that he wouldn't use the idea. Little Gray pouted.

"And second," Gray continued before taking a deep breath. "I don't want to."

"Huh?" Little Gray frowned in confusion at the sad expression of the guy next to him.

"I don't want to give them false hope."

"What do you mean?"

"If I show up before they're ready, I doubt they'll let me go after that. People are greedy and complex, they'll get their hopes up. I can't hang around here forever, I have to go sometime. And if we give them this useless hope, then it'll be harder for them _and_ me to let go. Do you understand, kid?" Gray explained. He turned to the little boy next to him and found his face blank. Gray sighed.

'_Sigh… he doesn't understand_.'

"Anyway, you'll understand when you've grown up a bit," Gray said, tiredly ruffling the boy's hair again.

"But… but… don't you miss them?" Little Gray asked innocently. Gray was stunned at this.

"Yeah, I miss them," Gray admitted. "But I can't be selfish. I'd rather be lonely than hurt everyone else again."

Little Gray suddenly felt a wave of pity for the teen. His childish side then decided to try and hug the older Gray, although in the end he only managed to hug his arm.

"Gray-nii isn't alone. I'm here, remember? I'll stay with you as long as you want," the child stated determinedly. Gray stared at him in surprise and disbelief, before he finally chuckled again at the kid's innocence and obliviousness.

"Sure… Gray-chan." Gray smiled warmly. For the first time since their conversation started, Gray called the little boy by his name. "Besides, actually…" the older boy added.

"From this place, I've been able to see everything that happened in the guild. Every single moment of the last few months. It helps a little with the being alone thing, and it's enough. It's more than enough." Gray threw another reassuring smile towards the little boy, as if to say that it was all okay. Little Gray smiled back in relief, and slowly released his grip on the older boy's arm.

After that, they fell into an awkward silence.

"Gray-nii…" the little boy called again. Gray hummed as the signal for little Gray to continue.

"Since we've been one for that long, then how come we only met today? How come we didn't meet up sooner?"

Again, Gray unexpectedly smiled and straightened up. "Another good question," he grinned. "I think, kid, it's because you've found the key to get here."

"Key?"

"Knowing that I exist."

"What?"

"Well, I don't exactly know the theory or whatever either, but here's what I think. Before you knew I existed, it's like a door was closed between us. But then you finally found it out a few days ago, so you can say that the door was automatically opened, giving access for both of us. You knew that a person called Gray Fullbuster once existed in the world, and since we're connected, your mind tried to 'find' me."

"Um, I think I get it… A little," the younger Gray said, hearing the older Gray's explanation. Gray grinned afterward.

"Thanks anyway, kid." Gray suddenly stated.

"What for?"

"For finding out about me." Gray smiled again.

"I don't get why you're thanking me," little Gray murmured. Gray only replied with another smug smile.

"Can I ask something else?" Little Gray said absentmindedly.

"What is it?" Gray replied.

"Do you know anything about my past?"

This took Gray by surprise. He coughed awkwardly, raising the boy's curiosity and confusion. "Erm… Sure I do, a bit…" Gray said hesitantly. At that, the little boy bolted up enthusiastically.

"Can you tell me? Can you tell me please?" the boy asked with eyes gleaming in excitement. However, Gray looked at him with an apologetic and sad expression.

"Sorry, kid. I can't for now, at least. But I swear, you'll find out sooner or later." Gray patted the boy's head again as it limply fell in disappointment.

"Why not?" the boy protested.

Gray kept patting his head. "It's not the right time."

"But, you'll tell me someday, right?" Little Gray lifted his head up. Gray nodded.

"I will."

"Pinky promise?" the boy asked, holding his pinky out towards Gray. The teen stared at the smaller pinky in hesitation, before finally lifting his hand to link his own pinky with the boy's.

"Pinky promise."

Suddenly, there was a light hovering around little Gray. His expression turned shocked, while the teen in front of him looked like he had expected this to happen. "Looks like it's time."

"What the…" Little Gray looked at himself in panic.

"Don't worry, kid. It's just time for you to get up." Gray smiled soothingly. A small hint of disappointment was clear in his face and voice.

"Gray-nii… Can we meet like this again?" asked the boy. Gray shrugged.

"I hope so, kid."

Little Gray felt a pang of disappointment from the words as his vision got blurrier.

"One more thing, kid," Gray added. "Please don't tell anyone about our little meeting. No one, not even Gramps, alright?" he said solemnly. Little Gray could do nothing but nod in obedience.

The little boy could tell that he was just about to be transported back to the real world, when he suddenly remembered something he had wanted to know from the beginning.

"Gray-nii!" he abruptly called. Although his vision was blurring, he could tell that Gray lifted his head questioningly.

"Why're you shirtless?" he asked quickly. Gray blinked before bursting into laughter at the unexpected question.

"Haha, you're funny, kiddo. Well anyway, I strip because it's kind of a habit of mine… But I _really_ hope you don't get this habit, even though you're an ice mage like me."

***Fairy**Tail***

That's it. Finally Gray Fullbuster made an appearance and met with Little Gray. Too bad it didn't last long. Huff, now I realize how I miss Gray Fullbuster =P

I'm not quite sure but I tried to insert some clue about Gray F. and L. Gray's relationship. It's up to you then whether you can find it or not '^^a

Please review and let me know what you think =)


	13. Chapter 13 Another Vision, Another Voice

Hello… Finally I'm back with new chapter. Wow, it has been two months, no? Hehehe… I'm sorry for the delay. I hope you don't lost interest with this story yet =P

Well, the Beta-reader of this story, **Kairaita**, want me to tell you her deeply apologize. She was very busy back then that made her barely have time to beta this chapter. The fault isn't fully hers though. I also took my time to do the final-editing for I have my exam since last week. It's finished already, thanks God ^^ (*I hate math by the way =P)

Despite that, I still have to thank **Kairaita** for betaing this chapter. She did a very good job whether in grammatical and also giving me some useful advises. Thanks a lot =D

Now let's move to reply-the-reviews section…

**Lost Canvas** : Thanks so much for your advise and also the review, dear. And, yeah… for Grays' moment… hehe… it's my lack in writing. It's just hard for me to pin-point the condition ehemlikeinthischapterehem,actuallythisoneis'rather'redundantehem. But I'll learn to make a straight-short-simple-clear story. =) thoughyoucan'tfindthattypeofstraight-simple-clearoneinthischapter ^^' And the last, yeah. This story still has a long way to go… =]

**Rewinsan** : Hehehe… yah, mungkin bisa dibilang juga kalau Gray mati penasaran. Tapi kata 'mati penasaran' kedengaran agak 'rendahan' banget buat orang seperti 'Gray-sama'. Khehehe… XD Ah… and Ndh13 harap kamu rela berbingung-bingung ria sampai beberapa chapter selanjutnya karena jawaban pertanyaanmu itu akan terungkap di chapter selanjut-selanjutnya… =9 Makasih buat reviewnya… maaf yah update-nya lama…

**Laila Yagami** : Hello… hahaha… you must be really patient to know what's happening XD Thanks for the review and sorry for the delay =)

**hurricaneclaw** : Thank you… thank you… here's the next chapter. Sorry making you wait… =D

**NO** : Thanks for reviewing. Haha… you mean the line about stripping-habit? Wow, that's unexpected =9

**Malika16** : Hi there Malika-san… hehehe… I hope you've finished reading this story until the latest chapter ^^ Thanks for the review…

**Yin005** : I feel bad too making Gray that way (killing him, leaving him alone in the unknown world… so sorry Gray… TT') Anyway, thanks so much for the review and thank you for waiting ^^

**gRayLu010** : okay… I update this… sorry making you wait and thanks so much for reading and reviewing this =D

***Fairy**Tail***

**Random Warning** : Redundancy. If you expect for some intense climax then I doubt you'll find it in here (¬ ¬')a

**Disclaimer**

Fairy Tail characters don't want me to own them. Sigh…

Chapter 13. **Another Vision, Another Voice**

…_standing there was none other than Gray Fullbuster. The real one…_

***Fairy**Tail***

The little boy's eyes fluttered open, and he groaned because his sleep had been disturbed, being awakened from his dream by a gentle shake on his shoulder. As he turned over, he felt soft sand underneath him.

'_Oh yeah, I fell asleep on the beach._'

"Gray-chan, you can't fall asleep in a place like this. You might catch a cold," said the intruder of his sleep in a smooth voice. The boy's eyes snapped open as he recognized the voice.

"Juvia-nee!" he exclaimed as he abruptly sat up.

""Were you having a nice dream, Gray-chan?" A blue-haired young woman smiled warmly at him, making the boy's face turn hotter.

"N- Not really… I- I mean, yeah! Sort of…" Little Gray stuttered, having no idea what he was supposed to say. Juvia gave him another smile.

"Come on, Gray-chan. It's getting colder. You can continue sleeping inside," she offered, pointing at the big building of their guild and pulling the little boy's hand. Gray blushed at the contact for some reason. He felt a pitter-patter in his heart.

'_Why am I always like this with Juvia-nee?'_ Little Gray wondered. His eyes were fixed on their locked hands, and then moved to the back of her head, the strands of her long, wavy blue hair dancing in the wind. He liked the color of her hair; it was like a cloudless sky at noon. From the beginning, Gray thought he and Juvia matched each other just because of their hair colors. While Juvia's hair was the color of a noon sky, Gray's was the color of a midnight one.

Instantly, the boy blushed from his thought.

'_What the—Gray! Stop thinking dirty things!'_ he shouted mentally, slapping his forehead and wishing the nonsensical thought would vanish from his mind.

But then a realization hit him. This 'pitter-patter' feeling felt so _different_. He didn't know exactly what, but that feeling felt like as if it wasn't him. It was only _inside_ him. So that meant…

The little boy smirked and lifted his face, seeing that they were in the guild now. He looked at the figure of the woman who was holding his hand and guiding him inside.

'_So, this feeling is Gray-nii's._'

***Fairy**Tail***

"Were you having another nightmare, Gray-chan?" Lucy asked concernedly. Little Gray blinked, snapping out of his thoughts. His eyes wandered around the place where he was: the guild. Oh, right. Where else would he be?

"Err… no, Lucy-nee. Why did you ask?" The boy stared at the blonde quizzically and innocently. Lucy sighed slightly in relief and ruffled the boy's head.

"You're spacing out more often this morning, Gray-chan. Are you thinking of something?"

Little Gray shook his head much too quickly. "N-no, nothing, Lucy-nee!" he stuttered. Lucy looked at him suspiciously.

'_This boy is definitely hiding something._'

"Listen, Gray-chan…" Lucy started. "…I know you really _are_ thinking about something. But I can't force you to tell me if you don't want to. So feel free to ask for my help if you need it, okay Gray-chan? I hate seeing you look so troubled like this," she finished, gently stroking the boy's cheek. Gray's eyes widened in surprise at first, but then he smiled sincerely.

"Sure, Lucy-nee. Thank you."

Indeed, Gray was thinking of something, something that had been bothering him in many ways. After meeting with Gray Fullbuster in his dream yesterday, he wanted to have that same dream again. He wanted to talk with Gray Fullbuster. There were tons of questions he wanted to ask. Little Gray thought that if he fell asleep again, he would be able to go to the place where Gray Fullbuster was and chat with the lonely dead person.

Yeah, lonely. The little boy knew that that teen was lonely in a world that had no one but him.

However, no matter what the little boy did, he still couldn't reach that place. When he was asleep, he only had some unimportant dream. It seemed like access to that place couldn't be given easily, even though little Gray now had the 'key' that Gray Fullbuster had talked about.

"Well, Gray-chan, don't you want to say goodbye and good luck to those two before they go off on their long mission?" Lucy asked, breaking Gray's train of thoughts again. The boy looked up to see who Lucy was referring to and his eyes caught sight of Titania Erza and a pink-haired man walking into the guild. Little Gray's temple furrowed, especially after seeing the latter.

"Why should I?" he growled to Lucy, pouting. Lucy chuckled seeing the boy's reaction.

"Oww, Gray-chan… They're doing a big S-class mission outside this country of Fiore. Don't you feel impressed with that?" Lucy once again ruffled the boy's head while smirking playfully.

"Where?" the little boy asked curiously.

"To a place called Vangle."

All of a sudden, Gray flinched as he heard the name. An eerie feeling rushed through him, although he had no idea why. This little movement didn't go unnoticed by the blonde next to him.

"What's wrong, Gray-chan?" Lucy asked in concern. Gray shook his head hesitantly.

"I- I don't know. Just… I felt a bit scared hearing that place's name…" Little Gray mumbled. Lucy nodded her head in understanding.

"I know how you feel. That place has a really bad reputation even to people in other countries. The number of crimes that happen there are uncountable. Sometimes I also feel like twitching just hearing the name of that place," Lucy stated, sipping her morning tea. Gray nodded and smiled a little at her answer. But deep down inside, he could tell the fear he was feeling wasn't just for a simple reason like that. There was something else more… important, although he couldn't remember what.

"Good morning, Lucy, Gray." A red-haired beauty greeted. Erza walked towards the bar where Lucy and little Gray were, followed by Natsu. Lucy replied with a morning greeting as well while the little boy just smiled.

"Good morning, Natsu." Lucy greeted the Salamander rather loudly, feeling annoyed that Natsu seemed to be ignoring their presence.

"Yo, Luce." Natsu greeted her back, although he ignored little Gray. The boy pouted slightly, but simply ignored Natsu's coldness right back. Lucy just sighed slowly seeing how they interacted, while Erza was unaware of the tension between the boys.

"So, you're going to do the mission?" Lucy asked.

Erza nodded in reply. "Yes. We'll go right after we report to master Laxus."

"I see…"

"How are you, Gray?" Erza turned to Gray and asked firmly yet concernedly.

"Eh?" The little boy blinked confusedly.

"Did you sleep well last night?" Erza asked. It looked like she was choosing her words carefully. She was curious and worried about the nightmare Gray had, and from Lucy and Loke's story, she could tell that the dream had been quite disturbing. However, Erza and Natsu had both been asked to keep what they had heard about the dream a secret. Even from Gray himself.

Nearby, Natsu silently looked up and waited for the boy's answer in a curious manner.

Little Gray tilted his head to the side in confusion at Erza's question, unaware of her worries. "Yeah, I did. Why, Erza-nee?"

The Titania just gave the boy a smile and patted his head, "Nothing."

Without anyone noticing, Natsu exhaled in relief behind Erza's back. He had been worried as well. But his pride stopped him from mentioning it out loud.

***Fairy**Tail***

_His eyes widened at the sight in from of him. A giant monster trapped, no, frozen inside a giant block of ice. From the moment he saw the monster, he felt his anger increasing to a level where he couldn't even control his breathing. That monster still looked the same as when he last saw it. The monster that had destroyed his hometown, killed his family, and made him suffer from the loss of it all. Deliora._

"_Deliora!" he said in a shaky voice. His body trembled as he stepped forward towards the sealed monster._

"_You're joking… why is Deliora here? I can't believe this! There's no way it would be in a place like this!"_

"_You known this thing?" asked Natsu from behind him as he rushed to approach. Lucy also followed behind with Happy, who was flying above them._

"_That's…" he stuttered. He was so shocked that he was barely able to say a word. "That's…"_

"_Gray, calm down," Lucy said, resting her hand on the ice-mage's shoulder. The latter inhaled then exhaled deeply until his breath turned stable, though he couldn't stop the cold sweat that ran down his face._

"_It's Deliora," he stated finally. "The Demon of Disaster."_

***Fairy**Tail***

"Another vision…" Little Gray groaned and lifted his face up. He was in the guild hall and sitting alone at a table. He wondered how the vision had come without the usual warning of a sudden pain in his head and why the visions hadn't stopped coming into his mind. It bothered him, to be honest. One second he would be peacefully sitting and enjoying the scenes inside the Fairy Tail guild hall, but suddenly the next second he would be brought into an unknown 'world', the vision. Gray wondered again about how his face looked during the vision. Did it look blank? He must have looked like an idiot.

He remembered what Gray Fullbuster had said to him at their last meeting. That he couldn't stop the visions from happening, but swore to take away the feeling of pain when the visions did happen. And it seemed that Gray Fullbuster had kept his promise.

"Deliora…" Little Gray muttered. "Gray-nii must really hate it." He clenched his shirt as he felt anger and hatred rising within him. But the emotions weren't his.

"I can feel it."

"Aww, what do we have here? A little kid thinking about something?" An amused voice was heard from behind little Gray. He turned his head slightly and saw a carefree Cana walking towards him with a big bottle of liquor in her hand.

"Hi, Cana-nee." Gray called enthusiastically; he always liked it when Cana was around, since he found the brown-haired girl fun to spend time with.

"What the… little kids aren't supposed to be thinking. They're supposed to be having fun." Cana cheerily ruffled the boy's hair who giggled at the contact. Lately, so many people liked ruffling his hair.

"What's wrong with thinking, Cana-nee?" Little Gray pouted. But despite himself, he laughed in the end, along with Cana.

"So… How's everything been in the time I was gone?" Cana asked randomly. For the past three days, she had been on a mission out of Magnolia.

"Err… nothing really." Gray lied, and immediately he felt bad about it.

"Is that so?" Cana glanced at the boy suspiciously who abruptly nodded.

Cana sighed. "You know, kid… You're a terrible liar." The drunken young woman chuckled seeing the little boy blush, then took a sip of her drink. "But it's fine if you don't want to tell me or anyone else. Everyone has their own secrets, no?" she continued, grinning.

"That's right." Little Gray grinned back, relieved that Cana didn't push him.

"Let's play a card game. I'm bored," Cana said, taking out a set of cards.

***Fairy**Tail***

Meanwhile, in a train that was headed outside of Magnolia…

"Are we there yet…?" asked a pale-green Natsu for the tenth time since they boarded the train. His companion sighed in annoyance.

"For goodness sake, Natsu, we haven't even left Fiore yet," said the annoyed Erza Scarlet. "If it bothers you so much, I can help you fall asleep rather than you angering me with your repeated questions."

Natsu didn't answer, as he was busy holding himself back from vomiting. Erza gave up on the lecture and instead tossed Natsu a small crystal bottle with some pills in it.

"Mmwhhmat is thmmis?"

"A new discovery of Wendy's with the help of Porlyusica. The function is the same as Wendy's Troia. Drink it," Erza explained. Natsu abruptly opened the bottle and swallowed one of the purple pills.

"Why didn't you give it to me sooner?" Natsu complained, after the pill took effect and his face turned a healthier color as if he didn't have motion sickness. Erza quietly admired the results; it was just like Wendy's Troia and worked just as fast.

"I intended to use it for emergencies only, but seeing your state earlier irritated me somehow and I had no choice. Anyways, Wendy told me that like Troia, the pills won't last long and you can't use it too often, or the effects will wear off."

"Yeah, yeah…" Natsu stated happily and rather nonchalantly. "Ah… it's so amazing being healthy inside a vehicle," he continued, mostly to himself.

"Now Natsu, we have to discuss something about this mission," Erza said.

"What else do we need to discuss? I think we've already discussed _so _many things back at the guild," Natsu protested. Boredom was clear in his voice.

"I just wanted to point out some important things to you," Erza started, ignoring her partner's protest. "Aside from being famous for its crime rates, Vangle City is also famous for its slave markets. As we've planned before, we'll disguise ourselves there and pretend that we are interested in buying a slave, or act similarly to how people do in Vangle. During our transaction, we'll try to sneak into the leader of the trading business's hideout and catch them without violence, if possible."

"I doubt it. There's definitely going to be violence involved if Laxus insisted on two S-class mages going. You already said all this stuff earlier at the guild, Erza. I even remember our plan in my head," Natsu yawned boredly.

"I know," Erza replied exasperatedly. "But please, don't make too much ruckus or we'll attract the attention of the whole city. And in the worst case, they may be against us."

"Okay… okay…"

"And also… master Laxus requested me to check something. He said something about the record information of the slave market, whether it's the list of people they've sold or the list of their members," Erza told Natsu, suddenly being much more serious.

"What for?" Natsu raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"I don't know." Erza slightly shrugged. "Maybe master is planning something and won't tell us… yet."

***Fairy**Tail***

"Yeah, I win again!" shouted a long-wavy haired young woman as she tossed her cards onto the table, while the little kid who sat across from her pouted at his loss.

"You always win, Cana-nee…" whined the little boy, and he put his cards down as well. Cana chuckled seeing the expression little Gray wore.

"Aww… Is Gray-chan upset because he lost six times in row~~…?" Cana teased and drained her fifth bottle of liquor.

"I'm not!" Gray pouted his lips childishly. "Beside, Cana-nee, you drink too much," he said, pointing at Cana's face that had turned so red.

"Aww… You already know me well enough, Gray-chan. Everyone knows that I never get drunk off alcohol," Cana giggled, though a hiccup slipped out from her lips. She then flipped her deck of cards over. "Let's play another game."

"Whatever," Little Gray sighed in defeat, and watched as Cana flipped the cards and divided the deck into three groups. One for him, one for her, and the last she put down between both of them. While Cana was busy with her cards, Gray was busy with his thoughts. He was still wondering about one thing and was considering whether or not he should ask Cana.

"Hey, Cana-nee…" Little Gray finally called, deciding to just ask. The latter hummed in response without lifting her face from the deck.

"What do you know about Juvia-nee and Gray-nii together?" he asked casually. Cana blinked in surprise at the unexpected question.

"Why do you ask?" Cana asked back after getting her composure. Little Gray shrugged.

"Just wondering…"

"Well, one thing for sure is… Juvia was really crazy about that stripper." Cana said absentmindedly though Gray caught a sight of giggling Cana for a brief moment. She was suddenly feeling amused, whether it was because she remembered the past when Juvia was always stalking her 'Gray-sama' or because she called Gray Fullbuster 'the Stripper' for the first time in a long time.

"So Juvia-nee really really loved Gray-nii a lot? What about Gray-nii?" Little Gray asked as he stared at his cards, wondering which one would allow him to win the game.

"Eh, who knows? Gray was pretty good at hiding his feelings. It was hard to tell what he was thinking back then. I guess you could say that he was cold and closed," Cana said, picking a card. It was her turn, after all.

Gray pouted at Cana's move, since it got her closer to winning. The young woman did not intend to lose even for a little kid. The boy then picked a card at random, barely concentrating because the talk about Juvia and Gray Fullbuster was distracting him.

"Then, what about you, Cana-nee? Do you think Gray-nii loved Juvia-nee back? If he did, Juvia-nee would be really happy."

"Of course she would be…" Cana mumbled, picking another card and ending her turn. "But no matter what, I still can't tell his feelings. He wasn't like an open book, you know?" She waited for little Gray to make a move, and despite letting out several more hiccups, Cana kept drinking her alcohol.

"Should I be offended? Not like an 'open book', huh? I kinda like it though," said a voice in a deep tone. Cana raised her half-lidded eyes to see that it was little Gray who had spoken. Had his voice been that deep before?

"You really want to know, Cana? I guess I was a little interested in her, but I don't really know if it was _love_ or not." Gray stared at the cards thoughtfully, then smirked. "Hm, maybe it was."

Cana snorted in reply. "Even when you're like this, you're still trying to act all cool, huh? Gr—" She stopped mid-sentence, sitting up straight in her seat and widening her eyes. The realization had just hit her hard. Cana stared in disbelief with her surprised wide eyes at the little boy in front of her, who stared back with a smirk playing on his small lips.

"G-Gray…?" she asked carefully and disbelievingly. The boy smirked wider, tossing his cards onto the table.

"I win, Cana."

Cana ignored the fact that she lost the card game. Instead, she frantically stared at the little boy.

"You're… Gray? Gray Fullbuster?"

"Long time no see, huh?" the boy said in the same deep tone with a playful smile. Cana shook her head like a dog shaking water from its fur. Then she rested her temple on her palm, bowing her head so she faced the floor.

'_No, no. No way, Cana. It must be the alcohol. This is just a really weird hallucination, right?' _Cana thought inwardly, then looked up. She saw the little boy still staring at her, but his eyes seemed blank.

"Gray…?" Cana carefully called for the boy. Little Gray blinked.

"Eh, sorry Cana-nee. Am I spacing out?" the boy asked, slightly ashamed, and shyly scratched his head. Cana blinked again seeing the current Little Gray. His attitude and his way of speaking had gone back to normal. By normal, I mean… more childish like usual.

"You're Gray-_chan_…?" Cana asked bluntly. The boy in front of her tilted his head in confusion.

"Yes…"

Cana was still staring at the boy and little Gray couldn't help feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"Cana-nee, what's wrong?"

"Nah, nothing, Gray. By the way, do you remember the last thing you were saying to me?" Cana asked, trying to keep calm and dig up some information. Who knew if little Gray was just playing around with her?

"Err… I was asking if you knew what Gray-nii's feelings towards Juvia-nee were…" Little Gray replied hesitantly.

"And what I was saying next?" Cana asked again. Little Gray's face turned thoughtful.

"I… don't think you said anything, Cana-nee. Or maybe I wasn't listening. I was trying to think about the card I should pick for the game."

"No need to worry about that, you won already," Cana murmured, but little Gray didn't hear her. The card mage moved her gaze around and found that no one had paid attention to them. So then it was possible that no one else had seen the odd thing happening at their table. Cana inhaled and exhaled several times, trying to clear her mind, while the little boy she was playing with looked at her in worry and confusion.

"Cana-nee, are you okay…?" little Gray asked carefully.

"I must be just imagining things," Cana said finally. Many possibilities popped into her mind, but she just wanted to believe that she had drunk too much alcohol.

"Maybe I drank too much. Well then, Gray-chan, I'm off for a while to get some sleeping pills," Cana said out loud, abruptly getting up and waving a goodbye to the dumbfounded little boy.

"Okay…" Little Gray said, wondering at Cana's odd behavior. His gaze then moved to the cards on the table, and he blinked as he realized something.

"Hey! I won!"

***Fairy**Tail***

"Gramps, why did you ask them to bring those human-traffickers' documents?" Laxus asked through the communication lacryma in his office. Inside the lacryma was the face of the previous master of Fairy Tail, Makarov Dreyar.

"Nothing… I'm just getting curious about something," Makarov replied nonchalantly.

"Curious of what?" Laxus urged. On the other line, Makarov shrugged.

"Actually it's just a little hunch of mine."

"Okay. Now just tell me what it is," Laxus demanded, slightly annoyed.

"It's about our little Gray," Makarov said casually. Laxus raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"So? What does it have to do with the slave market in Vangle City?"

For a moment Laxus was given no reply from his grandfather, as the latter was busy flirting with a young girl in a bikini who was serving a drink to the old man. Laxus growled in frustration, seeing his grandfather's antics.

"Hey Laxus, the drinks served here are fantastically good. You must try them the next occasion you come here," Makarov grinned at his grandson, showing off a glass of cold liquid.

"Stop joking around, Gramps!"

"Alright… alright… geez, you really must take a vacation. Your temper is getting worse," Makarov pouted at Laxus's impatience. Once again, Laxus let out a growl.

"So then, what's the relationship between that little boy and Vangle City?"

"Once again, it's just a hunch, Laxus. But I think…"

***Fairy**Tail***

"It's surprising to see that Cana Alberona needs sleeping pills." Loke's voice was mocking, and the drunken Cana shot him a glare.

"And it's surprising seeing a celestial spirit roaming around the human world." Cana said sarcastically. "What are you doing here?"

The Lion spirit rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, Cana. You know well that I'm a spirit that's rather… free. I can go between the human world and celestial spirit realm by my own will."

"No wonder that Lucy feels so annoyed about spirits like you," Cana mumbled as she nodded her head toward the guild's library where the blonde was.

"She does?" Loke chuckled in amusement. Cana simply nodded, then swallowed the tablets Wendy had given her back at the infirmary.

"Anyway, why do you need that medicine all of a sudden?" Loke couldn't help but feel curious. Cana reluctantly shrugged.

"You know, I was getting a funny and crazy hallucination. Thanks to the alcohol, I guess?"

"Really? What was that?" Loke asked, clearly amused by the fact Cana lost to the alcohol.

"You won't believe it. But, I talked to Gray! By Gray I mean _Gray_." Cana said, then took another bottle of beer out of nowhere and started sipping it, completely unaware of Loke freezing all of a sudden.

"How…?" he whispered in disbelief. Cana glanced at him and simply shrugged again.

"The hell I know. That boy suddenly spoke in a deep tone as if he was a teen and then he said something I suppose only Gray would say. Really, it felt like I was talking with Gray." Cana shuddered. "It's rather creeping me out, actually."

"Is that so…" Loke muttered, putting his index finger and thumb to support his chin, thinking. "Then, what did Gray say after that?"

"He said that he didn't remember anything. He was spacing out at that moment. I don't understand it myself."

At once, Loke's mind flew to the moment when he had also experienced the same thing. At the beach, when little Gray had tried to find a way to crush a giant rock, when he had given the boy the idea. That time when he heard _Gray_ thanking him.

"Well, but…" Cana said, breaking Loke's thought immediately. "I'm sure I was just imagining things. The effects of the alcohol, maybe. Do you think so, Loke?"

The spirit dumbfoundedly stared at the wavy-brown-haired woman before absentmindedly nodding, "Yeah sure."

However, deep down Loke knew that what he said was totally different from what he was feeling. He was sure Cana hadn't just imagined things. It had really happened, but the reason for it… Loke still couldn't figure it out.

***Fairy**Tail***

"Ice Make: Cannon!" Little Gray shouted, making a certain pose like an archer, and slowly, something formed from his hands. At first it seemed like it was going well, but before the ice had molded into a shape that could be seen, the little boy dropped his arms since the object was so heavy. In the end, the icy 'thing' that was supposed to be some

kind of bazooka shattered into pieces, leaving the caster panting and falling to his knees from the loss of so much magical power.

"AARRGHHHH!" shouted the boy exasperatedly, kicking the sands. But he slipped and ended up lying on the ground. He was sweating badly, and felt like he didn't have enough strength to move even a finger. "It's so hard trying to make that cool cannon!" Gray growled in frustration.

Lately, he had been seeing more memories in his head, this time of Gray Fullbuster's ice creation, a giant cannon. Little Gray had immediately become interested in it and wanting to try and make one. But it was so difficult for him. Sometimes, he wished that he could open whatever the door to Gray Fulluster was just to talk with the dead ice mage, but obviously it had never happened. So in the end, he could only practice all alone until he felt too tired to. However, it seemed like he had gone too far today, using too much magical power.

"I can't even move now!" he cursed to no one. The beach at the afternoon was empty as usual except for him. Slowly little Gray felt his eyes grow heavy. '_Why I always end up sleeping here?' _the boy inwardly muttered as sleepiness overtook him.

***Fairy**Tail***

The raven-haired little boy jolted up as he noticed where he was: a plain field of grass with an orange-reddish sky over it because the sun was oddly close. However, it wasn't hot. On the contrary, it was rather cool due to the wind that blew once in a while.

"I expected us to meet up again and have another chat, but I didn't think it'd be this fast," said an amused voice. The boy turned around and smiled widely, seeing the person that he had wanted to meet right behind him.

"Hi, Gray-nii." The boy greeted. Gray's reply was a small smirk.

"I see that you're practicing to make an ice cannon," Gray stated and took a seat near the little boy, who nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah, the cannon's so cool, Gray-nii! And it's so powerful too," Little Gray said, while his older self listened closely.

"That's great and all, kiddo, but… don't you think you're rushing a bit? The ice cannon's one of my ultimate techniques. For a kid your age to do that…" Gray stared at the boy with an evaluating look.

"I can do it! I want to get stronger!" the smaller boy frowned stubbornly, making the older one sigh.

"Look kid, you need to get way stronger to use the ice cannon. You need arms like this-" Gray patted his own muscular arm. "to even hold it, because the cannon's so damn heavy, and the recoil when you shoot it is pretty big too. Besides…

"…getting stronger means taking your time when you're practicing. You need to be patient, doing things step by step, and don't force yourself to do something that's impossible for now. My point is, don't bite off more than you can chew."

Little Gray stared at Gray, pouting, but nodded in the end despite saying with a huff, "You talk like an annoying big brother here."

"Hey!" Older Gray sweatdropped as he knocked on the little boy's head playfully. The latter laughed at the action, making and Gray couldn't help but feel amused as well.

"Seriously, you need to listen to the older people once in a while," Older Gray chuckled.

"I always do!" Little Gray stuck out his tongue while rubbing the spot where he had been knocked.

"Hey, Gray-nii… Why did we suddenly meet up like this? I tried a bunch of times before but I couldn't," Little Gray continued. As way of reply, Gray snickered at him.

"Straight to the point, huh? I'm pretty sure that to access this place, your magic power has to be less than mine," Gray answered lightly. "The last time we talked, you didn't sleep a lot, so your magic power was way down at the time. And this time, you used up so much magical power when you were training that you couldn't even move a finger when you were done. That's what you'd call meeting the condition of having less magic power than me."

"I see…"

For a moment there was only silence, since both of them were unsure what to say next.

"Erza and flamehead are going to Vangle City?" Gray asked nonchalantly, though a hint of curiosity could be heard from his voice.

Little Gray nodded. "Yeah. They're going to do a special S-class mission Master Laxus asked them to."

"Gramps knows," Older Gray whispered to himself.

"Huh?"

"If my thinking's right, kid, then we're getting closer to that truth you wanted to know. And also to the end of all these troublesome mysteries."

***Fairy**Tail***

Alright…. Chapter 13 finish! What do you think? It isn't surprising if you disappointed about this one. There's not much intense in this chapter, my beta reader said so. So from now on I'll learn to pin-point a story. I'll try my best X3

…Review Please….


	14. Chapter 14 Vangle City, Special Case

Okay… first, I would like to say sorry for updating late. It's nearly a month, no? Yea, a reviewer reminded me of that. It's so melancholy but his/her review touched my heart. I never expected my story will be—well, I don't know the right word—liked and appreciated so much like that. *sniff* Thank you so much.

Anyway, don't worry *for now*. I won't discontinue this story because I'm still having the plot idea of it. It will be a waste if I stop it midway. I know many people appreciate this story and I'm so grateful of it. Despite that, I still can't get rid the possibilities this story will be updated late. I've started school as the senior for this semester which obviously being the busiest year for me. So forgive me if I can't write as often as usual. The point is; I won't discontinue it. Even if I have to do that (and I hope I don't have to), I'll surely tell you guys. This story will just being updated late. Maybe once a month? To be honest, I think I can't promise you to update it weekly or once-in-few-weeks.

Besides, as you've known it already, this story is betaed. So this story has three important process; I write the whole chapter. Then, Kai edits the chapter I send. Kai also has her own life, right? So we can't push her to be fast =) Last, I do the last editing. So it's obviously taking more time. But we do it in order to present you the best from us. ^^

Okay, I think the reason is enough for now. And like usual. I'll thank **Kairaita** for doing the editing of this chapter. Not only in grammatical thing, but also in some plot and such ^^

Review time! Wow, I got a lot of them this time while I'm afraid you wouldn't like the last chapter from it redundancy. Thank you again guys… =D *and sorry if I might reply it shorter that usual. There're so much of them!*

**gRayLu010**: Thanks for the review, dear. Yeah! GANBARU! ^^

**AnimeMangaVicki**: Glad you like it. thanks for the review and enjoy the next chapter~~ X3

**Rewinsan**: Hahaha… yeah, Once Again, Live is back~~ thanks for waiting and the review ^^ Hehehe… soalnya Cana lagi *agak* mabuk, jadi kayaknya bakal aman kalo dia muncul lamaan dikit =9 Yup, di chapter ini *dan chapter depan* lebih fokus ke misi Erza&Natsu. Enjoy and happy reading X3

**Laila Yagami**: Glad you like it. And your hunch… is… *the answer is in this chapter, tee hee* thanks for the review… ^^

**Lost Canvas**: I really like your review because it's so honest. Thank you ^^ Yeah, no intense, making me afraid that you start to unlike my story. But I guess I shouldn't stop, right? =) And also, for the magical-power thing. You're right. There're some lacks I didn't notice. I didn't think about it carefully enough. I'll try to fix it in the future. Once again, thank you for telling me my mistakes =D

**Animelover0160**: Thanks for your review ^^ And here's the new chapter, hope you like it. Yea, I'll keep updating it X3

**Lendrycia**: Yea… I'm such a meanie making Gray like that, but I rather enjoy it actually *evil smirk* khehehe… =9 Thank you for your review and please enjoy this newest chapter ^^

**GrayFullbusterfangirl**: Thank you! Thank you! X3 I hope you like this chapter too… =D

**NO**: Here's the new chapter… jeng jeng... thanks for the review and happy reading ^^

**Kisshufan4ever**: I'm glad you like my story and so grateful that you review. Thank you… ^^

**Mewsugarpudd**: Thanks a lot dear… ^^b *thumb's up*

**IcedSoulFairy**: Aww… thank you too… for the review and for the wait. Happy reading =D

**Aurelie Bonhoffen**: Wow… you type more than 150 'OMG's. That's… awesome =O Anyway, thanks so much… here's the next chapter =)

**Junday**: It's a pleasure too to share. Thank you for reading and reviewing my story =) Hope you like this chapter too…

**Guest 1**: Hehehe… thank you… And it's rather hard for me imagining people _really_ stalking Gray =O

**Guest 2**: Oh my… your review touch my heart (in a good way of course)… *sniff* okay, I won't cry… I won't cry… Anyway, as what I've said before, I won't discontinue this story. It'll be updated late only. So don't worry and please just be patient ^^

Again, thanks to people who have reviewed. And also thank you so much to people who read this story and alert it. Thanks *bow*

***Fairy**Tail***

**Disclaimer**

Fairy Tail's characters belong to Hiro Mashima-sensei forever.

Chapter 14. **Vangle City, Special Case**

…_Once again, it's just a hunch, Laxus. But I think_…

***Fairy**Tail***

"I know it's called the 'city of crime', but I never expected it to be this bad," Natsu muttered, loosening the hooded cloak he and Erza wore to hide their faces and Fairy Tail marks. To not attract anyone's suspicions, a cloak was a perfect disguise since most citizens had that kind of 'fashion'.

Natsu quietly gazed around the dirty path. It was a small city and seemed like hell on earth because of the depressing atmosphere.

"How can they even call this place a 'city'?" Natsu asked while watching a shopkeeper chase after three little kids who had stolen some fruits, a bat ready in his hand. People witnessing the scene either completely ignored them or merely laughed at the shopkeeper and cheered for the kids. And Natsu was completely sure he even saw five or six people attacking someone right at the so-called city hall, and no one was bothering with it as if it were completely normal.

"Hey! Someone is being attacked right there!" Natsu shouted and ran to the crowd. But before he could get closer, Erza grabbed him by the collar.

"Do. Not. Interrupt!" Erza warned.

"But—" Natsu protested, but immediately shut his mouth as Erza glared at him.

"O-okay…" Natsu obeyed and averted his gaze from the scene, trying his best to not interfere with the attack despite the whimpers and the scent of blood from the poor victim flooding his mind.

"This city has had a very bad reputation for years. People who come here are mostly criminals, or something dangerous like that," Erza stated.

"So then why doesn't the government— well, capture them or something?" Natsu frowned

"Even though it has a horrible reputation, it's still a city with its own autonomy. The government can't attack this place carelessly and capture every single one of the citizens, because most of them are adept at hiding their crimes. Autonomy rights of a city aren't supposed to be unlimited though, so I have no idea why the government let this one slide. Sometimes I really don't understand the way the government thinks," Erza explained. "Besides, the citizens aren't ordinary people. Almost all of them are mages, and there are many powerful ones too. It must be hard for the government's army to deal with it when they don't have an army of mages or a mage guild to rely on."

Erza was so busy talking that she hadn't noticed that Natsu had tackled a foreign man to the ground. The dirty looking man yelled in pain as Natsu forcefully folded his arms backward. Natsu's hood fell from his head to reveal his tanned face and pink locks, and Erza's eyes widened in surprise.

"Just what do you think you're doing? Don't you remember what I said about not attracting too much attention!" hissed the scarlet-haired woman. Her gaze moved from Natsu, to the man he had tackled, then to their surroundings. The people around now glared at them with curiosity and interest, as well as suspicion.

"This guy tried to steal my wallet," Natsu said casually, snatching two wallets from the pickpocket's hand and showing them to Erza. "He managed to get yours too. Geez, he's pretty good." Erza instantly took hers back, then kicked the pickpocket, who was still lying on the ground, in annoyance and disgust.

"I knew you'd do that." Natsu chuckled upon seeing the action.

"Idiot. Now people are looking at us," Erza growled. "And next time, don't let your guard down! This is an obviously dangerous city, so you have to keep being careful," she snapped exasperatedly.

"Hey! Who let their guard down here? You were so busy talking that you didn't even realize he stole your wallet. You should be thanking me for saving it before it was too late," Natsu protested, ignoring the pickpocket who had escaped. Unfortunately, Natsu was ignored by Erza, since her attention was focused on a man who was slowly and confidently approaching them. Erza narrowed her eyes and silently gestured Natsu to keep quiet.

"Hey there, young man. You've got great skills there. I'm impressed," he said, grinning cockily. His mud-colored hair moved with the gentle and cold wind that blew around them, and his small eyes gleamed with interest.

"Who are you?" Erza asked coldly. She got a feeling that the sly-looking man wasn't an ordinary citizen. People around were looking in their direction with caution, and some of them were clearly avoiding that man. And who would wear a clean and well-tailored suit in the middle of a small and dirty city?

"I'm a mere pedestrian," said the man and Erza immediately knew that it was a lie. "Your friend's skill caught my attention. And it seems like you too are a quite skillful, miss." The man grinned, showing his white teeth.

"You don't need to know anything," Erza stated, before pulling Natsu's hood to cover his face and pulling the Dragon Slayer to leave the scene and the suspicious man.

"Hey! Be gentler, will you?" Natsu animatedly protested.

"Whoa, whoa… Hold on there, miss. I'm just trying to be a good greeter, you see?" said the man, who had abruptly chased after Erza and Natsu and was now standing in front of the duo, blocking their way. "I've never seen you two here. You're newcomers? Or mere visitors?"

"Customers," Erza replied shortly. She couldn't sense any magical power or harm from the tidy-looking man, and continued cautiously. "We are looking for a good place to buy a slave."

"A slave, eh? What made a lady like you want a slave?" the man asked again. "You don't look like the type of person who'll hand their job to other people like slaves." Little did Erza know that she was being investigated by the man.

"Our Lady Aglaia wants a new personal slave. Are you done yet? We don't have time to talk to people like you," Erza lied. The story about 'Lady Aglaia' had of course already been organized by her and Natsu back at their guild.

"Is that so? Well then, you've met the right person here. I have good connections with people in the slave market. Mind if I tell you the way?" The man bowed slightly and playfully winked. Erza glanced at Natsu, silently asking for his opinion. He gave a nod, and Erza accepted the offer.

"Sure," Erza said, and pulled her hood to hide over her face before starting to walk. Natsu quietly followed while the muddy-haired man led the way.

"I'm Lagor, by the way. Mind telling me who you are?" Lagor said casually. Behind him, Erza and Natsu silently exchanged glances.

***Fairy**Tail***

"Vangle City, that name sounds so familiar…" Little Gray mumbled slowly to himself. Loke, who happened to be passing by his table without Gray realizing it, heard every word the little boy spoke.

"Isn't that the city where Natsu and Erza are doing their current mission? What's with it?" Loke asked curiously.

"Loke, what are you doing here?" Little Gray frowned, seeing the sudden appearance of that Lion spirit.

"I'm still a member of this guild, no? So I can be freely roaming around this building." Loke shrugged, showing his usual charming smile. '_Besides, I'm curious about you, especially after what Cana experienced yesterday,__'_ Loke thought inwardly, sitting himself beside the little boy. "So what's with that city?"

"I don't know. It's just… I feel familiar with it." Little Gray said unsurely. Loke just raised an eyebrow.

"What's so weird with it? I'm sure most other people will feel the same. That city is quite famous after all."

"Argh! You're saying the same thing as Lucy-nee's. No, it's not like that!" Little Gray groaned and shook his head violently. "I know it's not because it's famous. But because of… something else. I can't figure it out somehow…"

Loke fixed his gaze toward the little boy, deep in thought.

"Perhaps… Is it because you once lived in that city? Like how you felt about Magnolia?" Loke tried to make a guess. The boy blinked his eyes upon hearing Loke's words. For a moment, neither person talked. One was trying to process the other's words in his mind, while the other was waiting for the boy's next words.

"Now that you mention it… Yeah, something like that. It's the same feeling when I first heard the word Magnolia before I got here. But this time, it's a feeling like I don't want to ever want to go there again. It's really different from Magnolia, because that time it was like I really really missed it. What does it mean, Loke?" the little boy said finally, lifting his head to meet Loke's emerald eyes.

"How should I know…?" Loke mumbled slowly. But his expression showed a look of triumph, as if he was satisfied by something. "Is it possible that your past has something to do with that place?"

"Really?"

"Who knows?" Loke shrugged. "But, kid, I want to ask you something else," Loke added and edged closer toward the confused boy.

"Do you remember that twice now, you've talked differently to both me and Cana?"

"Huh?"

"You talked as if you were a different person. As if… you were being possessed by… _someone_." Loke narrowed his eyes, emphasizing the last word, while the boy had a confused face.

"Did I? Really?" Little Gray asked in disbelief, but also curiosity.

"You don't remember?" Loke asked, now that it was clear that he was investigating the totally confused little boy. Little Gray himself shook his head hesitantly. Not immediately believing the boy, Loke stared at him suspiciously for a bit, examining him, searching for any indication that Little Gray was lying. In the end, Loke sighed in defeat and shifted his position so he could sit more comfortably. "Alright then."

"Anyway, I have a conclusion- No, it's more like a hunch, of what's happening around here. I came up with it after a lot of observation and collecting information from as many possible sources as I could," Loke said, briefly glancing at the boy next to him.

Little Gray just gave him a quizzical look before asking, "What is it, Loke?"

The strawberry blond-haired spirit leaned and stared deeply at the little boy's dark orbs. "Can't you just come out, _Gray_? Why you have to be a parasite like this?" Loke asked, gripping the boy's little shoulder and looking straight into Little Gray's eyes. But somehow the boy felt that Loke wasn't talking to him.

"Eh?" Little Gray muttered confusedly.

For a moment, it was silent. Little Gray blinked again and became more confused at Loke's action. He thought that Loke was starting to lose his mind, and couldn't deny that he was rather afraid of that.

"Loke, are you okay?" the smaller boy frantically asked. Loke still looked at his eyes, but now those emerald orbs were full with disappointment as Loke released his grip.

"…Sure," he replied, dumbfounded. "Okay, _Gray_, now I don't know if I'm wrong, or if it's just that you don't want to," Loke mumbled and let out a sigh of defeat, seeing the lack of any reaction from Little Gray.

"Maybe I am wrong. Heck, it was just a hunch after all… Well then, I'm off." Loke stood up. "Oh, and can't you use 'nii-chan' with my name already?" Loke frowned, before grinning. Gray dumbfoundedly nodded, then tilted his head to the side as Loke disappeared into light.

"What's with him?"

***Fairy**Tail***

"Let's go inside, Miss Sylvet." The man named Lagor opened a heavy wooden door to invite the two in. The red-haired young woman referred to as Sylvet stepped inside casually, but kept her guard up. A younger man with salmon-colored spiky hair followed behind her.

"And welcome to my little office," Lagor said warmly. Erza and Natsu looked around the room. It was quite big and rather luxurious, and seemed out of place in a city where crimes were committed so often. It was also bright, which was far from Erza and Natsu's first predictions of what the room would be. They had expected a dark and damp room, a typical place for criminals or an interrogation room. In the room, there was a work table and several big filing cabinets along the wall.

_'Could it be the document master wanted is in one of those cabinets?'_ Erza inwardly wondered as her eyes silently traced the shelves.

"Well, Miss Sylvet and Mr. Draconian, it's okay to take off your hoods now. You know, even here, covering your head in a room is rather rude." Lagor chuckled, but the demanding tone in his voice faded the humor in his words. Reluctantly, Erza pulled off her hood, and so did Natsu.

"I'd never expected you to be the one who runs this business," Erza said sarcastically to Lagor. But the said man just laughed humorously and shook his head.

"Oh, no, no… It's not like that, miss. I'm not the one running this market—although I indeed have a good job here. But nope." Lagor chuckled as he walked towards the desk. "So then, what kind of slave does your Lady Aglaia want?" Lagor asked in a businesslike manner, as he opened some files he'd taken from the drawers.

"I'm sorry, but can't we just see them by ourselves?" Erza asked, which was replied by another humorous laugh from Lagor.

"My, my… Miss. I guess you don't know about our system yet. You can say that the market we're running is… ah, 'high-class'. Our system is much more organized than other markets, and surely ours is better. Beside, letting our customers seeing the slaves by themselves will be a waste of time due to the large amount of products we have," Lagor arrogantly explained.

"Your 'products', huh?" Natsu snorted mockingly but Lagor just let it go.

"We can't really tell the so-called type we need. Just someone fit to be a personal slave, perhaps," Erza mumbled.

"Oh, personal slave? Then maybe someone in this list may catch your attention." Lagor gave Erza a certain file.

While Erza scanned the file page by page, Lagor busied himself by searching for other files and gave his customer advice on choosing the right slave. Natsu skimmed his gaze around the whole room. He could see the shelves were labeled by gender, age, whether or not they were mages, and others. The Dragon Slayer was surprised at the number of slaves this market sold. However, there was one label that really caught his attention: Special Case.

Lagor went back to his table with some new files he wanted to show. But then Natsu twitched slightly and redoubled his guard. His Dragon Slayer's nose had caught some kind of strange scent. It might be cliché, but somehow, Natsu could tell that something bad was going to happen.

"Erza, this is bad. I smelled something weird, and I think someone strong is coming closer," Natsu carefully whispered to Erza so Lagor, who again was busying himself with his shelves, wouldn't notice.

"I know," Erza whispered back and closed the file in her hand. "I can sense his or her magic."

"It's _his_ by the way," Natsu muttered and glanced back at the door.

"Hmm, it's also no good whispering behind someone's back. Seems like Fairy Tail mages don't get enough proper lessons about good-manners." They heard Lagor speak with a cocky tone. Both jolted up but in a flash they felt like couldn't move their body.

"What the…?" Natsu yelped spontaneously. "I can't move even a finger!"

"What did you do?" Erza hissed, trying to make a move in vain.

"Just using my magic." Lagor shrugged as if Erza's question was the silliest thing in the world. "What? Surprised, huh? Miss Erza Scarlet and Mr. Natsu Dragneel from Fairy Tail?" Lagor added, saying each word in a mocking manner. And he smiled in triumph seeing the expression Natsu and Erza made after that.

"Damnit! You knew we were from Fairy Tail in the first place?"

"Shit! You're a mage?"

Both Erza and Natsu exclaimed in unison. Lagor just showed them his white, tidily arranged teeth before answered, "Yeah, I'm a mage and I happened to have an advantageous ability to hide my magical power from people like you two. And for your question, Erza Scarlet… humph, these days who won't recognize that beautiful scarlet hair? Even in this small city outside Fiore your bravery and yourself are quite well-known. Same thing goes to you, Natsu Dragneel. The so-called Salamander with pink hair," Lagor said.

"It's not pink, dimwit! It's salmon-colored!" Natsu protested angrily.

"Yes, yes…" Lagor said monotonously. "Well then. Roda, you can come in now and join us," he called. Instantly, the door that led outside burst open, revealing a thin and tall man with short and straight straw-colored hair and sharp violet eyes. His appearance was not much different from any other delinquent in the area. Rather, he looked weaker than most others.

"Whoa… If it isn't the famous Salamander. I'm so lucky today, eh?" Roda looked at Natsu amusedly, while Natsu returned the glare coldly.

"What makes you so lucky, huh? Stick?" the Salamander hissed sarcastically.

"Well, you see, I'm a Dragon Slayer too," Roda smirked seeing the reaction of both Fairy Tail mages. "Second generation, by the way. And I've always been waiting for this time; to fight a real Dragon Slayer like you".

Natsu gritted his teeth, still unable to move, as was Erza. "Bring it on, Stick."

"Hoo… with pleasure." Roda snickered and quietly asked Lagor to free Natsu from his magic, which Lagor obeyed reluctantly.

"Please don't mess up my room too much," he mumbled to both Dragon Slayers. But both seemed to ignore him. Seeing this, Lagor sighed and scoffed at Roda. "Just in case, I'll call the security. Your time is limited to when they come," Lagor added, and carefully pressed a button on his table. But once again, he was ignored.

From afar, Erza could hear a noisy sound she suspected was the alarm. The Titania mentally cursed the trouble that they would be getting soon. From the corner of her eye, she saw Natsu launch his fiery fist towards Roda, but the latter skillfully dodged it. Natsu was immediately amused by his opponent's skill, and somehow felt excited. Erza growled at Natsu's excitement. This fight was unnecessary and was only wasting their time. She wanted to tell Natsu to stop and do something to free her from Lagor's magic, but the magic prevented her from moving her jaw to speak. Lagor was concentrating on holding her, though sometimes he looked at the fight worriedly.

Unexpectedly to both of them, Natsu ran towards Lagor and punched him before he could even react. Roda gasped at the sudden action of his opponent and could only stare as his master fell ungracefully onto the ground. At the same time, Erza felt the magic holding her release.

"What do you think you're doing?" Roda shouted furiously, to which Natsu replied with a smirk.

"My bad, my bad! I missed with my punch. Sorry!" Natsu said, obviously lying, and it only increased Roda's anger.

"Why you son of a bi—" Roda yelled, but was cut off midsentence when Erza punched him from behind, making the thin man fall onto the floor.

"Nice move, Natsu," Erza praised flatly. "But next time do it faster. You're wasting our time."

"Well, sorry."

"We don't have time to play around. Our disguise has been revealed. It'll be troublesome to insist finishing the mission right now. Retreat," Erza commanded.

"How come? They're just a piece of cake. Let's just search for our target." Natsu still protested.

"There's too many of them, and some of them are heading this way," Erza exasperatedly said, referring to the sound of footsteps coming from outside.

"Oh, shit!"

"Wait, I'll take some documents they have. Geez, there're too much of them!" Erza added and picked up the entire file on the desk, as well as some random files she took from the desk drawer.

"Then I'll take some of these, too," Natsu mumbled as he opened the Special Case drawer and picked out some files too.

"What is that?" Erza asked.

"Just something that caught my attention." Natsu shrugged.

"Alright, then. Let's go." Erza pulled her hood to cover her head then opened the door just to find ten or fifteen big guys standing in front of the door.

"Oh, crap," Erza breathed. Luckily Erza hadn't opened the door wider or those men would see two of their comrades in an unconscious state.

"Who are you and what are you doing in master Lagor's office?" asked one of them in the front.

"We're customers," Erza answered flatly.

"What happened inside? Why did the alarm ring?"

"It's just my friend, who was stupid enough to push a random button," Erza explained, ignoring an exasperated 'Hey' from Natsu behind her. "Anyway, is there another group heading this way?" Erza asked casually to distract them and to gain a little information.

"No, there's not. But there are more groups guarding the way out of this building," the man informed her.

"Wow, thank you," Erza said politely, but mentally laughed at the man's stupidity. How easily he was leaking the information to complete strangers. On the other hand, Natsu clearly laughed at them out loud.

"Hahaha…! What a bunch of idiots you are!"

"What?" the men growled, feeling insulted. In a blink, they were knocked down by both S-class mages. One by one, they fell on the floor with thuds.

"They really are stupid," Natsu commented.

"Agreed," Erza mumbled. "Now, let's go." Erza walked towards the direction they had come from, Natsu following her every move. Both of them listened for any suspicious sounds, such as footsteps.

"This mission was boring," Natsu pouted, while they set a fast pace along the corridor. Finally, they reached the door out and didn't encounter any other obstacles. "We didn't meet any strong mages. Even that Dragon Slayer was lame."

"Stop complaining! This mission isn't over yet. And quicken your pace!" Erza groaned after hearing another alarm behind them. Guess that somebody else found a bunch of unconscious body on Lagor's office.

***Fairy**Tail***

"What's with you, Roda?" Lagor hissed furiously, standing up and towering over Roda who was still lying on the floor with a smirk on his face. Lagor waved away the help his other subordinates offered. "I know that you can actually beat them up easily. Now look, they took my important files!"

Roda slyly smirked at his boss, "Nothing. I just found something interesting." The new-founded Dragon Slayer sat up straight and showed off his amused expression.

"What is it?"

"Remember the little boy who escaped about half a year before? I've found a little about his tracks." Roda said. Lagor furrowed his temple, thinking.

"Oh, the brat who made that ruckus last time?" Lagor asked, immediately getting interested. "You know? You seem pretty obsessed with him. Anyway, what's with him?"

"Of course I'm obsessed. He had surprisingly strong magical power for his age. Besides, I still want to pay him back for what he did to me," Roda said, and shoved his shirt up to show a big cross scar on his stomach. "It's vague, but I could smell his scent on them. That way we can track where he is and get him back. Don't you remember how much profit we could get from him?"

"We can sell him as slave with a quite high price or we can make him our strong fighter. We even could sell him to some freak scientist and they'll surely pay us with a damn high price." Lagor muttered, a sly smirk also played on his face while his brain doing math. Moments later, he moved his attention to some of his confused delinquents who'd gathered in that room and gave a command.

"Tell them to meet me soon. I have a special mission for them."

"By _them_, you mean those mages-for-hire?" asked one of the delinquents.

"Yeah, _them_. Tell them that they'll go with Roda to Magnolia."

***Fairy**Tail***

Natsu and Erza decided to make a small camp in a forest outside the city. Renting a hotel or inn room in the city seemed too risky. Natsu was lying on the ground and staring blankly at the afternoon skies. Erza sat across from him, starting to read the files they'd stolen. She still couldn't understand why Laxus wanted those things.

"So now, what about the… whoever we were supposed to capture in that trafficking business?" Natsu asked monotonously. Erza briefly lifted her face from the file she was reading before answering.

"We need to re-plan our strategy. I guess people in that city have found out two Fairy Tail mages were wandering around their city today. I don't know if they've figured out our purpose, but the subordinates of that Lagor guy will surely increase their guard now," Erza explained, and sighed. "This mission will take longer than we'd expected before."

"Who are we actually supposed to capture, anyway? That Lagor guy?" Natsu asked again.

Erza hummed, thinking. Actually, Laxus hadn't given them clear information on who their target was. "I'm not sure. Lagor definitely has a large role in the business, but he isn't the one in charge, who would be our true target. I think we need to collect some more information first. And we have to be more careful now, considering that they know we're here already, plus that Dragon Slayer's nose."

"Geez, this is getting more annoying," Natsu groaned, mostly to himself.

"Well, that's an S-class level mission for you," Erza commented flatly. Natsu glanced at her. Erza immersed herself again into the file they had stolen. A smirk appeared on the Dragon Slayer's face and he snorted lightly. Erza looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing really." Natsu shrugged. "Just… it crossed my mind a moment ago. It's been forever since we've done an S-class mission together, huh?" Natsu grinned. "Only the two of us became S-class mages. So we've never invited Lucy or even Happy since… well, since you made that policy that S-class quests are only for S-class mages," Natsu continued with a light shrug. Erza's eyes softened at this.

"Yes, you're right. Rules must be followed after all, unless we want to lose one of our comrades again. I don't want to repeat history a second time," Erza said. Her eyes were on the paper, but she wasn't really looking at it. She felt like her mind was floating somewhere else as she recalled the memory of that time.

"Gray's death, huh?" Natsu mumbled, his eyes softening as staring at the skies above. Erza was a bit surprised at Natsu mentioning Gray's death. For those long five and half years, Natsu was the person who didn't want to recall about that moment the most. He preferred to shut his mouth rather than mention Gray and Death from his own lips.

"Since that bastard died, everything changed. The guild changed, most of the people changed. We've never done a team mission again. You and I rarely go out with Luce or Wendy again. It's making them stronger though, that's good. But still, it feels so weird for me, being alone in a mission," Natsu murmured.

For a moment Erza could only stare at the sudden melancholy Natsu in awe. "You changed too."

Natsu, hearing this, snorted and immediately sat up straight. "Same thing goes for you."

"It can't be helped. He was like my little brother. Losing him was a really big loss," Erza sighed. "I've always blamed myself for his death. I was too reckless. Letting my precious comrade being killed by the enemy right in front of my eyes… it really crushed my pride as an S-class mage and also as an older sister, even as a teammate."

"I'm the same way," Natsu murmured even more softly. He couldn't tell whether Erza had heard him or not. "Then, what do you think about… that kid?" Natsu asked nervously. Erza stared at him again. To her, this was out of character for Natsu. She had thought Natsu wasn't the type of person who would bring this kind of touchy topic to the surface.

"Little Gray, huh?" Erza mumbled softly, not sure what to say next. "Truth be told, he reminds me so much of Gray. Often, I even think that he's just Gray turned into a five-year-old boy." For a mere second, there was a triumphant glint in Natsu's eye, until Erza added more strictly.

"However, like master said," she flicked her eyes toward Natsu. "He's not Gray. No matter how many similarities there are between them both, Gray is gone. Nothing can change that."

Suddenly, Natsu felt rage overwhelming him. But his senses warned him not to argue with Erza. So in the end, he just lowered his gaze in defeat and sat down again. An awkward silence infiltrated between the two S-class mages.

Neither of them were willing to continue the conversation anymore. Erza went back to the files, commenting on how lucky they were for being able to take such important files with them.

"It's interesting. Just look at how their network works. It really is not an ordinary slave market. If we hand it to the council, it'll help them quite a bit."

Natsu, her only listener, just absently let out a hum of agreement. He wasn't paying much attention to the Titania, since he decided to read the 'Special Case' file he had taken by himself. He found that the files recorded slaves who had some serious problem that made them unable to be sold. The most common reason for being incapable of being sold was a slave's rebellious attitude, or having unexpectedly strong magical power or mere physical strength, which could not be handled properly. Some of them were captured and sent to a special room called the 'Therapy Room'. Natsu had a feeling that it wasn't a good kind of therapy the captives got, and could only shudder and feel pity for those poor slaves. Meanwhile, a few of them were lucky enough to be able to escape. But of course, they couldn't run away in peace since most of them were still being chased by the slave-owners.

Natsu moved on to a third file that recorded events from a year ago. It was still relatively new and obviously more interesting, although not in the beginning part. The cases were more or less the same as the previous ones. However, Natsu suddenly bolted up when he saw a certain page. The page of events from about half a year ago. He stared in disbelief at the photo on that page.

"Erza…" Natsu called. His voice suddenly turned hoarse.

"What?" Erza asked and raised an eyebrow seeing Natsu's odd behavior. The Dragon Slayer shakily thrust the file to Erza, and the red-haired woman grabbed the file confusedly and read it over.

"W-what… is this…?" Erza stuttered, and her expression was much like Natsu's. She gripped the paper and stared at its contents. The photo in the file that identified the owner's face bewildered both of them. It was a photo of a little boy with messy hair, raven in color. His eyes were the same shade as his hair, dark like onyx stone, and stared at the camera blankly. His face was as pale as the wall. He looked like a living corpse, as if he had no hope in life, as if he no longer had the desire to live. Though the expression was so foreign, the face itself was familiar to them.

Erza's eyes opened wider in shock. She turned her gaze to Natsu who had turned paler as well, shocked from their discovery. "G- Gray… -c- chan…" Erza finally stuttered in a low whisper.

"What the fuck," the red-haired mage hissed and turned to the paper again. Her gaze wandered every inch of the paper's contents and suddenly stopped at the mention of the name of little boy in the photo.

"…Arian… Clain…"

***Fairy**Tail***

That's all for this chapter. I hope you like and I hope you can find any clue about… well, something. Whatever.

I don't know what to say right now… just… yeah, thanks for reading and please leave a review ^^


	15. Chapter 15 Bad Feeling, Danger Comes

Hello… I can't believe it I will see you again with the new chapter of Once Again, Live. Hehehe… My school has gotten even crazier day by day. Huff… just because I'm in the senior grade and stuff about those National Exams and blah blah blah, yada yada yada.

Anyway, I'd like to say my "Thank You" to **Kairaita** for editing this chapter. Aww… So many things she'd done with it to turn this chapter into a better one. I cannot ask her for more and she also deserve these praises of yours. =)

Okay, now the review. Lemme start from….

**gRayLu010** : Glad you like the suspense I tried to build there, dear. And thank you for the review, hope you like this one, too =)

**GrayFullbusterfangirl** : Thank you so much, dear. So it isn't just me who think that Gray, Loke and Cana were the coolest trio in Fairy Tail (because they're cool! XD) And your opinion has its right side =9 Yeah, sometimes OOC-ness is the best—if you know what I mean XD

**Laila Yagami** : Hahaha… you think so? Poor Loke XD Yep, Arian Clain is his real name—what an uncommon name, huh? ^^' Anyway, thanks for the review, dear. Enjoy this chapter too… =D

**Guest (1)** : Hello too… Hahaha… I also had a feeling I heard it somewhere before =9 (1.) I will do as what you'd suggested, about the recap. And I hope it will help you and other readers. Thanks for the advise ^^ (2.) And yeah, sorry for that Natsu and Erza part. I indeed made these two chapters focusing on their mission since it's related to LGray's past and the climax of this story =) (3.) Well, maybe because it didn't need any link yet (?) *randomanswer* ^^' (4.) That's right! That file is the key about LGray's past =D (5.) Seem like your curiosity need to wait longer. The reason LGray called himself 'Gray' will be revealed in the end of the story ^^ (6.) Aww… I think you'll find another boredom in this chapter because there's no important scene about LGray here also because of what I said in the answer number 4. I'm sorry. But *spoiler* next chapter will cover it up. I hope. Thanks for he review and surely I like it so much X3 Hope you like this chapter too somehow =)

**AnimeMangaVicki** : Thank you so much for the review Vicki. I'll try my best writing between my crazy school activities ^^ I hope you'll enjoy this chapter as much as before =D

**SullyWullyBunny** : Aww… someone is super excited here it seems… =) Thanks for the review and I hope you're as excited to read this one =D BTW, I like your name. It's cute X3

**Shaman Shinobi** : Thank you for the review ^^ I'm glad you like it and please enjoy this chapter too ^^

**Featherain** : Thank you… thank you… thank you… XDDD

**Guest (2) ** : Thank you… Hehe… yea, poor Loke. Let's pray that Natsu didn't fooling around and protect the boy well =9 Hope you enjoy this chapter too… ^^

**Nav2255** : Hehehe… I hoper you also like the rest of the chapters =)

**IcedSoulFairy** : Thanks for the thumb XD I love Gray too! Number one in my list! XDDD

**Guest (3)** : Nah, that's okay… I'm grateful that you're reviewing this story C= Yeah, Loke was dead-curious about that little boy while Erza and (especially) Natsu didn't realize that actually they started to grow their (sibling) love toward the boy. Aww… human and their complex feeling XD Hope you enjoy this chapter as well

**Poiu Ytrew Q** : Thank you… and here's the update! X3 Your name is unique. It uses all button on the first line of keyboard. Ahaha… Poiu Ytrew Q XD

Again, Thanks guys for the reviews and also for the alerts. And also my Thank you to those who willingly read this story. Luv ya =3

***Fairy**Tail***

**Disclaimer**,

Fairy Tail is in the hand of the best, Hiro Mashima

Chapter 15. **Bad Feeling, Danger Comes**

*Previously on Once Again, Live*

_"Then I'll take some of these, too," Natsu mumbled as he opened the Special Case drawer and picked out some files too._||_Roda slyly smirked at his boss, "Remember the little boy who escaped about half a year before? I've found a little about his tracks."_ ||_Natsu suddenly bolted up when he saw a certain page. The page of events from about half a year ago. He stared in disbelief at the photo on that page._||_"…Arian… Clain…"_

***Fairy**Tail***

"Why's it say Arian under the picture?" Natsu mumbled dumbly. "Isn't he… he… _that_ brat?" He was still unused to calling little Gray 'Gray'.

"Don't you remember that little Gray lost his memories?" Erza muttered. "Perhaps Arian Clain is his real name."

"He was a slave?" Natsu straightened in disbelief. Erza frowned deeply, thinking.

"Let's read this one thoroughly," Erza suggested and brought the file closer to her face while Natsu peeped over Erza's shoulder, also trying to read it as much as he could.

"Arian Clain, 4 years and seven months old when this picture was taken, year x796," Erza read it loudly so Natsu could hear her. "A woman named Olla Suede exchanged him for some money."

"That's the women who sold him? Who the heck is she?" Natsu growled in anger.

"The file doesn't have concrete information on the woman. Anyway, it says that Arian didn't attract the attention of any customers because he was still too young." Erza unconsciously gripped the paper, as angry as Natsu. "It says that Arian looked lifeless, though otherwise they thought he was normal. Who would be happy knowing they're being sold as a slave? Arian didn't show any special abilities, so they thought he was just a little kid."

"Then what happened?" Natsu demanded, eager to know the whole story.

"It's continued in the 'Special Case' part. Arian showed that he could actually do ice magic. He tried to escape from the market and was successful, leaving some damage to the market itself. That's all." Unconsciously, Erza realized that she had been holding her breath as she read every detail of the file. Behind her, Natsu showed a shocked expression. He'd never thought the little brat he used to ignore had such an important and horrible past.

"Wait, there's something else," Erza added, breaking Natsu's thoughts. "It says that Arian is their top wanted slave, and they need to get him back no matter what. Searching for him is their first priority."

So what? I'm sure he's safe in Magnolia," Natsu said nonchalantly, feeling unconcerned. But Erza frowned, as if there was something wrong. As if they were missing something.

"Oh, no!" Erza yelled and abruptly stood up. Natsu jumped up in surprise seeing Erza's sudden action.

"Natsu, can you smell Gray's scent on either me or you?" Erza asked impatiently. Natsu tilted his head in confusion.

"Well, now that you mention it, yeah, I can smell him a little bit."

"And do you think a second generation Dragon Slayer has a nose as sharp as yours?" Erza asked again, now turning pale.

"Usually they do."

"God, this is bad! We have to go back to Magnolia right now!" Erza stated in a panic and abruptly rushed toward their belongings, ready to pack it all up.

"Okay… hey! What? Why should we? What about the mission?" Natsu exclaimed, shocked from Erza's sudden decision. His red-haired companion turned to face him, her firm expression making Natsu twitch, although he swore he saw anxiety and fear in it.

"It's against my policy, but we'll quit this one. We have another situation to deal with right now," Erza stated reluctantly which made Natsu's eyes widen in surprise and disbelief.

"We what? Quitting the mission we're given will stain the name of Fairy Tail! I can't believe you would do this!" Natsu roared.

"Look at this!" Erza shouted back, thrusting the file at Natsu and pointing at the footnote that said finding Arian Clain was their top priority mission. "If that Dragon Slayer of theirs, Roda, is capable of smelling people's scents like you, then he'll surely recognize Little Gray's scent from us, even if it's vague. In other words, they'll be able to track him down and find a clue to his whereabouts! They must be heading to Magnolia soon."

After Erza finished her explanation, Natsu could do nothing but stare at her with a dumbstruck face. He abruptly closed his jaw, just realizing it had been wide open, and shook his head in disagreement. "No, wait, Erza! You're jumping to conclusions. It's been what, over half a year? You think he'd still remember that brat's scent? And I'm sure those guys at Fairy Tail'll notice if something dangerous is going on and protect that brat. Those delinquents weren't strong at all anyway."

"We're quitting this mission and that's final," Erza repeated in a stern voice. "It might have been a long time, but if they really put so much interest in that boy, then they'll do anything to get him back. We need to warn the people in the guild, Natsu. If I was going to steal something from Fairy Tail, I would do it carefully in the shadows. You know how strong everyone in the guild is; I wouldn't be stupid enough to mess around with Fairy Tail."

"But the mission…" Natsu stubbornly frowned.

"Natsu! Your mission or your comrade?" Erza snapped, almost yelling.

Natsu blinked as Erza's words stabbed his heart. He wanted to yell something back, but he didn't know what to say. Deep down, he knew that Erza was right; _the mission or his comrades._ Just for one guildmate, _just for the sake of one person_, Natsu and Erza had to ignore a big mission. But he knew that that one person was worth more than a sack of jewels. …No, the person couldn't be exchanged for any number of jewels in the world, because that person was their family. No matter how hard it was for him to admit that the person was part of his life, no matter how hard it was for him to admit that he actually loved and cared for the person, he still couldn't allow harm to come to his family.

In the end, Natsu exhaled in defeat and understanding. "Let's head back to Magnolia."

Neither of them realized it, but someone with straw-colored hair was listening to every detail of their conversation. He was a couple feet away from Natsu and Erza's tent, being one with the shadows, and cleverly hiding his scent so the pink-haired Dragon Slayer's nose couldn't detect the presence of this intruder.

'_Well, so I was right all along_,' said the certain person inwardly. '_That boy is indeed at Fairy Tail right now_.'

He then melted into the tree's shadow and moved to another shadow, leaving the scene to report his discovery to the boss.

***Fairy**Tail***

He was dreaming. He knew that, at least. Since he had met personally with Gray Fullbuster, the dreams had come more often. Just yesterday, he had dreamed of 'his' fight with the younger Juvia Loxar on a rooftop or something. At first, there was a feeling of determination to beat the girl, but the feeling turned to sympathy and the urge to somehow help her. It ended pretty well, although Juvia fainted for some reason he didn't know.

Slowly, he was getting used to it. Instead, he was more eager to learn about the past of the person he had an unbelievable bond with, getting curious about it.

Now, he dreamed again. He was on a boat and his gaze couldn't be turned away from a strange tower in front of him. The tower was so freaking high and looked so dark. The stars in the night even made it worse, like a ghost tower. How ironic that the odd tower was named the '_Tower of Heaven_'.

A giant magic cycle appeared above the tower. That magic circle… was holding a huge amount of power. He turned paler, frantic, especially after seeing that a dreadful magical energy was going to be shot toward the tower. This was bad! His friends were still inside! Natsu and Erza!

"No," he muttered in a slow whisper, and the magic circle did its job. A big, bright light shot towards the tower, attacking it. It was so bright that even he, who was more than a hundred meters away from the target, was blinded by it.

No one could survive such an attack. No one.

***Fairy**Tail***

Erza couldn't sit comfortably in the train heading to Magnolia. Her mind was wandering to who-knew-where and the bad feeling never stopped disturbing her mind. She was staring at the scenery outside the window with a frown, although she could see nothing since it was midnight, everything was completely dark. Across from her sat Natsu with his pale-green face. Motion sickness had attacked him again, but Erza didn't allow him to swallow another Troia pill, just like Wendy told her; Natsu couldn't consume the new medicine too often or the effect would decrease.

They had managed to catch the last train to Magnolia. Dawn was still a couple hours away, and they would reach Fiore a few hours before sunset. It really was a long journey. However, neither of them could close their eyes even for a few minutes, for different reasons. Natsu couldn't sleep because of his motion sickness, while Erza was too troubled to sleep. She was afraid the people from the slave market would give chase, and in the worst case, reach Magnolia before she or Natsu had the chance to warn the guild.

Needing something to distract her, Erza opened one of the files they had gotten. It was about some 'special' employees they had. Most of them were strong mages, and Roda, the Dragon Slayer, was one of them. Apparently, he had the power of a Shadow Dragon. Erza mentioned it to Natsu, but was unsure if Natsu was really listening since his motion-sickness was getting worse. The document also mentioned four brief profiles of mercenary mages, which caught Erza's attention. Her fist clenched in rage at the thought of mages only working for money, not joining any guilds but only renting out their strength and loyalty for a certain period of time. The document also reported that those four mages were quite skillful, although Erza believed that they couldn't possibly be on the same level as their guild's S-class mages.

Suddenly Erza was thrown forward in her seat, as well as the other passengers, and then the train stopped. The passengers who were still awake looked confused at the sudden stop, while others who were awakened from their sleep looked around curiously, wondering what had happened.

"Huh? Why'd the train stop? Did we get to Magnolia already?" asked the still slightly motion sick Natsu. He could manage to speak properly now that the train had stopped moving, although he was still pale.

"I don't know. Maybe something is wrong with the engine," Erza said. But she was unsure, because she could hear the sound of the train apparently still moving, but going farther and softer. Wait, farther and softer?

"It can't be!" Erza shrieked, and frantically rushed to the door that connected one carriage to another. She opened the door and felt her heart stop, seeing what she had been afraid of. The hook that connected their train carriage to the one in front had been cut, leaving them behind while the main train and a few carriages kept moving forward, leaving them behind.

"Damn!" Erza cursed loudly.

"Erza, what happened? Why did the train stop?" Natsu asked curiously as his motion sickness completely faded, the color back in his face. Erza turned around to see her companion and some passengers behind her, looking at her confusedly.

"The hook was cut," Erza said and pointed at the thick, jagged metal beneath the door.

"For real?" Natsu exclaimed in surprise before lighting a small flame in his hand like a torch, and used it to look at the metal hook closely. "You're right. Something sharp cut this hook, someone must have done it. But who? And why?"

"I bet the people from that market is to blame for this. And why? Maybe because they want to slow us down. I can't think of another reason," Erza hissed.

"Ahaha… Nice answers, Sister Titania," giggled a girl's voice. Both mages looked up just to see a girl standing on the railway a few meters from their carriage. Natsu's fire was bright enough to allow them get a good sight of the girl, who had purple hair that reached her mid thigh. She was adorned like a doll, with her pale skin and gothic theme outfit from head to toe, all in black and purple with frilly lace on the edges. Her pink eyes shone menacingly in the dark night, like a pair of small lamps inside the glass orbs of a porcelain doll.

"Who are you?" Erza demanded, pointing her sword at the teenage girl threateningly. The latter just chuckled, and her voice was like a five year old little girl despite the fact that she obviously wasn't.

"My name is Choir and I'm… well, you can say that I'm with a guy named Roda," Choir said.

"Choir… you're Choir Lavitte, the mercenary mage that the market hired?" Erza stated, increasing her guard. They were facing a skillful mage right now.

"Wait, what's a mercenary mage?" Natsu frowned, but too bad he was being ignored by both female mages.

"Well, you're really a smartass, sister. No wonder Roda ordered us to finish you off first." Choir opened her palm and something like a microphone appeared in her hand. "Shall the show begin?" she smirked before pulling the mic closer to her lips.

"What you're going to do with that thing?" Natsu asked mockingly. For him, it was so funny to see someone bringing unusual things such as a microphone into a fight of mages.

The smirk never faltered from the girl's lips. "It's a Lacryma microphone, for your information. It can convert my voice into… something special," she said rather randomly.

"Close your ears and don't listen to her song!" Erza yelled all of a sudden, warning the other confused passengers and Natsu before covering her own ears with both palms.

"Erza, wha…" Natsu shouted, insisting an answer despite the fact her ears were already covered.

"I remember now, the file said that her magic comes from her voice! The point is, don't listen to her!" Erza yelled.

"A pointless effort, if you ask me. Nothing can block my voice, even the hardest metal." Choir chuckled. "Tonight, I'll kindly sing you a lullaby. Sleep well…"

"Not if I beat you up first!" Natsu shouted and in an instant he had run towards the Choir chick with his fist engulfed in flame, ready to punch the girl.

"NATSU!" Erza shouted in disbelief, shocked at Natsu's action. Choir didn't even flinch from her spot as she saw the monstrous speed of the dragon slayer, knowing he was too late. Choir opened her mouth and began singing a soft and gentle song that was intended to make her victims fall asleep. Natsu yelped as the first notes of the melody entered his ears, at once feeling sleepiness consume his mind. Abruptly, he stopped his attack and his hands flew to cover his ears, trying to block out the voice in vain. His dragon slayer's ears, sharper than other humans, could hear the song clearly despite tightening the cover on his ears.

Choir's smirk widened seeing Natsu drop to his knees, his eyes closing slowly as sleepiness dominated him. The voice mage's eyes then spotted Titania still standing tall in her spot, although her legs were shaking slightly. Her ears were tightly covered, but Choir knew that her voice was still able to reach Titania. Behind Erza, all the other passengers had long since fallen asleep, including the hyperactive dragon slayer who was now lying in front of the singer, sleeping like a toddler. Erza could do nothing to stop Choir's magic. She was only able to hold it back, and if she released her hands, everything would be over. But if she stayed like that, it was still useless since she couldn't attack and Choir's voice would still get through to her. So it was just a matter of time before she too would fall asleep.

Choir stopped singing, a triumphant smile playing on her face. The Titania Erza finally crumpled to her knees and was now lying on the door of the carriage, fast asleep. All because of the beautiful lullaby of Choir Lavitte.

"Have a nice dream, all. Sleep well." Choir smirked before turning around and got ready to leave.

"Ah, I almost forgot," the voice mage stated suddenly, stopping in her tracks. "At dawn, there will be a train coming from that way," she said innocently, pointing in the direction straight ahead. "The crash that might happen will probably kill you all, guys." Choir laughed mischievously and glanced over her slender shoulder. She only found everyone still sunk in their deep, peaceful sleep.

"Well, lucky for you that you'll die in your sleep. Hmm, goodbye then. I must catch up with Roda and the others. Hope they don't leave me too far behind." Choir huffed in annoyance before running off.

***Fairy**Tail***

The sound of a glass crashing to the floor was heard near the bar of the Fairy Tail guild, although not many people paid attention. A glass breaking was quite a normal thing to happen in that noisy guild.

"Ouch, I'm so sorry!" Little Gray shouted in a panic and kneeled down to pick up the fragments of his juice glass.

"My… that's okay, Gray-chan. A broken glass isn't something new here," Mirajane said, sweeping over to Little Gray with a small broom. But then she heard another 'ouch' from the boy.

"I cut my finger!" He winced in pain and Mirajane saw his little middle finger bleeding.

"Oh my, that's a big cut, Gray-chan. You should go to the infirmary right now. Wendy is there," Mirajane said worriedly. The little boy was a bit touched by her concern, but he shook his head gently as he sucked on his finger.

"It's not a big problem, Mira-nee. It will be okay if I lick it."

"You think so? Your wound must be cleaned, okay?" Mirajane said, still insisting the boy to go to the infirmary room.

"Look, it isn't even bleeding anymore!" Little Gray showed his now clean finger proudly. Mentally, he rolled his eyes and sighed tiredly. Sometimes, the people in the guild were too protective and overbearing. He was grateful for that, but they made him feel like a baby and he hated that thought.

"Alright, if you're that stubborn about taking advice," Mirajane said with a pout. "But don't blame me if you lose your finger in the future from infection!" she added to scare him. But Little Gray ignored Mira's childish threat. His attention was on the pieces of glass on the floor along with the splattered liquid of his drink, although he wasn't really thinking about anything.

There was a thought in the back of his mind that was bothering him. He couldn't figure out what it was, but the feeling was getting worse and worse, like something was coming closer. But it was a normal day, wasn't it?

***Fairy**Tail***

Natsus's eyes flickered open as his dragon slayer's ears caught a noise, hundreds of meters away. He blinked to focus better and found that he was lying on the cold metal of the railroad tracks.

The confusion came first, but then the events from last night flashed across his mind like lightning. In an instant he jolted up, on his guard, eyes searching for the presence of enemies, but he saw nothing. Just then, he noticed soft and warm rays coming from the east. It was already dawn.

"Argh, damn that chick," Natsu groaned, before his ears once again caught the sound of… a train? He was not quite sure, it was a reason to worry and be cautious. He concentrated his hearing, and now was one hundred percent sure that there was a train coming… toward them. Wait, if there was a train coming towards them, then both trains would crash! Dammit, they needed to run. He needed to warn everybody.

"Erza!" he frantically shouted and ran toward the red-haired mage who still sleeping soundly on the train door. Natsu shook her, not bothering to be gentle when there was no need to.

"Erza! Wake up! We're in a big trouble!" Natsu shouted after Erza's eyes started to open. She blinked a few times before Natsu's words came sunk in.

"What? Where's that mage girl?" Erza murmured dumbly due to the sleepiness that was still engulfing her.

"I don't know, but we have something much more urgent here! A train is coming this way and within half an hour, this train and that train is gonna collide!" Natsu practically yelled. Erza snapped her eyes open and she abruptly stood up.

"Damnit!" Erza cursed. Her eyes then landed on the other still-sleeping passengers, and knew that she and Natsu couldn't simply run or jump into the river beneath them to avoid the train. They were strong enough to survive such an extreme escape, but what about the passengers? They were mere civilians, not mages. In other words, Erza and Natsu had a responsibility for their safety. On the other hand, they urgently needed to go. Their family member was in danger, and the enemies were getting closer to Magnolia.

"Wake them up! Quick!" Erza demanded, and immediately slapped one of the male passengers in the face. The man woke up and quickly obeyed her stern order to help them in waking the other passengers after seeing her terrifying expression, as well as realizing how serious their situation was. Natsu did the same, without the slapping. Fortunately, there were only two carriages that had been left behind, so it didn't take long for them to wake all the passengers.

"I think we only got about fifteen minutes," Natsu warned, hearing the other train come closer.

Erza growled in frustration at their lack of time, and faced the confused passengers. "Listen up, everyone, and remain calm. We have a serious problem right now, and first, I must ask you not to panic. The carriages are stuck here, and there is another train coming this way. And once again, PLEASE QUIET DOWN!" she yelled, as the voices of the passengers immediately rose in terror.

"How_ can _we keep calm? We don't have anywhere to escape!" shouted one terrified passenger frantically, indicating the fact that they were stopped in the middle of a long and high bridge over a powerful rushing stream about twenty meters below. There was no way an ordinary human had enough time to run to either end of the bridge with so many people.

"We're aware of that. So then I'll ask all of you to go out the door of the last carriage and run for your lives along the railway. That's the only solution we have to your survival," Erza said in a stern voice. Natsu and the other passengers gulped in horror. They could tell that she wasn't a person to disagree with.

"B-but then, the train will still come, and we can't run that fast," squeaked a woman who was hugging a small child. Erza shot a pitying glance at the woman and her trembling child.

"I am going to block the train, and I'm confident that I can hold it for about half an hour. That should be enough time for you to escape," Erza stated solemnly, and her audience gasped.

"I'll help you," Natsu said with the same level of seriousness but Erza instantly shook her head.

"No. You must go to Magnolia. Stop the mages before they could reach the city if it's possible. Then warn master and the others. I know you can do it. With your flames, you will be able to catch up to those mages."

"That's the train!" a girl yelled in horror as if there was a monster coming closer. All attention shifted to the direction the girl was pointing. The train was still about a hundred meters away, but within sight and with its speed, it could collide with them within ten minutes. For the second time, the passengers yelled in a panic and started running towards the exit.

"CALM DOWN!" Erza yelled again, her gaze fixed on the train, and started to curse mentally. At first, she had thought she could tell the train engineers to stop the train immediately with the emergency brakes, but now Erza saw that the train was one of the new types that was controlled automatically with some kind of Lacryma, and was unstoppable until it reached its destination. This would make her job so much harder.

"Believe me, everything is under control," Erza announced quickly, ex-quipping into her most powerful defensive armor, the Adamantine Armor. "This armor can increase my strength to the point where I can block the impact of the train. I promise I will stop it, and for the time being, please make your escape," she commanded. "Women, children, and elderly are the priority."

"You." Erza pointed at a random man. "I'm sure you can be trusted. I beg you to lead these people away so they can escape. Please, the responsibility is on you." The man gulped nervously at being put in charge so suddenly, but managed to nod in agreement. Erza nodded gratefully back. "Thank you."

"Are you sure you're can do it by yourself?" Natsu approached his companion who nodded determinedly.

"It might be harder than I thought, but don't forget that I stopped the Jupiter cannon once," Erza said sternly, walking away from the carriage. "You better hurry. Go to Magnolia, and bring those files we stole. We can use those to explain the situation better."

Natsu was hesitant to leave Erza, but seeing the practicality of the plan, he nodded and rushed back to the carriage to take his belongings, as well as the files. When he went back to Erza's side, the train had already reached a few meters from Erza. Behind him, Natsu could hear the panicked screams of the passengers.

"I'll stop the train. Then you'll be able to climb it up easier." Erza said finally.

"Okay. Be careful, Erza."

The train sped closer and closer. Erza took a deep breath and immediately activated the magic of her armor, hoping it was enough to stop the train without breaking it down. She watched unflinchingly as the train seemed right about to collide with her, until her hands made contact with the front of the train. At that moment, Natsu jumped onto the train top, glancing back at Erza one last time.

The wheels of the train were screeching as they turned without moving, and Erza had the shields of her armor up, the magic managing to slow the train for the moment. Erza was being pushed back slowly without stopping completely. Her eyes met Natsu's and she nodded, gesturing him to leave. Feeling certain that it was alright to leave everything to Erza, Natsu quickened his pace until he was outright running, although he felt a bit sick because the train wasn't completely stopped.

But Natsu had no idea that the train was much more than Erza could handle. She couldn't stop it. Erza knew this, yet she gritted her teeth and still held the train back, knowing she could not give up until the last second.

***Fairy**Tail***

"What a lovely city, huh?" cooed a young man with a thin figure. His posture was tall but he was slimmer than normal people which made people think that he could be blown away by a wind.

"So many differences from Vangle," agreed a younger man with extremely pale skin. "Don't you think so, Granton?" he added, nudging a person next to him who was the largest among the six. Granton growled in anger.

"Are you trying to offend me? Or are you forgetting that I'm blind, Vessel?" Granton snapped at the pale young man as he pointed at his eyes, which were covered by a blind fold.

Vessel held his smirk. "Yeah, yeah… sorry then," he said but he didn't seem regretting what he had said.

"Let's move. Over there," said a man in well-tailored suit, pointing at a certain building at the end of the city. "Those two S-class mages might come back anytime, though Choir slowed them down. We must move fast."

"Chagrain, make sure that you use your magic on every single person of that guild." Roda—the thin-tall man—said to a long-haired man standing at the back of the group.

The man called Chagrain smirked. "I can use my magic on every single citizen in town if you want."

"That's not a bad idea." Roda smirked back in satisfaction.

***Fairy**Tail***

Okay, that's for chapter 15. I hope you do enjoy it. Thanks for reading *bow* m(_ _)m

A/N: Oh yeah, did the recap work? Or should I change its format?


	16. Chapter 16 Kidnapping, Searching

I'M SORRY EVERYONE MAKING YOU WAIT THIS WHOLE THREE (or so) MONTHS! Also _**Kairaita**_ wants me to tell you her deeply apologize for holding this chapter this whole time. Many things happen in real life, making her had less time to finish this one. Hope you can forgive her, me and… yeah, us two… (TT^TT) Because I'm in the fault for the last few weeks delay.

Despite that, we can't forget to say 'thank you' to _**Kairaita**_ for beta-ing this chapter or this story would be as horrible as I could imagine it would be ( ^^')

**AnimeMangaVicki** : Thank you, dear. And so sorry making you wait long XS

**Shaman Shinobi **: LoL, that's somehow an interesting idea ^^ Anyway, thanks for the review…

**Fullbusterrulesmyheart** :Thank you… thank you… and don't worry, I give you more Gray in this chapter. Sorry for the long wait ^^'

**Lost Canvas** : LoL… people do mistakes sometime ;) and 1. Yeah, I can agree with this part. But can't help it… I need that stupidity of Natsu. LoL. 2. I'm sorry for that. I'm not good in fighting scene and I don't feel like putting a fight scene there *cough*lazy*cough* ^^' 3. Thank you. That's Kai's work. She added more description here and there which turned out to make the story better XD 4. Let's meet Gray-chan here~~~

**Rewinsan** :That's okay, Rewinsan Hehe… I tried to make this chapter more intense. But still… it's up to readers to judge ;) Thanks for the review though…

**Lendrycia** : Too bad… it's too late… LoL… Thanks for the review Lendrycia ;D

**Featherrain** : Oh wow… thanks for the compliment. I'm trying to not miss a tiny-single thing. And with the help of my beta reader, I can keep them in character. I hope you think so, too ;) Thank you for reviewing…

**Yin005** : Choir is one of my favorite OC, hehe… (^^)v Despite knowing his real name already but I guess it's still hard to make us call him that (I feel that way honestly. Like you, I prefer call him Little Gray/Gray-chan. But someday we have to call him Arian tho… =P) Yeah, Natsu should move faster but still… it's too late… too late… (^) Though you say to update faster but it turn out that the new chapter come out three months after that. I'm so sorry… we're so sorry…

**Joey103** : Hehe… it's nice that you finally visited this link and thanks for the review. I'm glad you like the name of Arian Clain (finally someone says it's good!) Both Grays' conversation contain angsty in there. Glad that someone had been cried at it… (-^-)

**Shinuster** : Oh My… thanks for the review and the compliment! *jump up-and-down* here's the new chapter. Hope you like it too X3

Thanks a lot guys for the awesome review… also for those favorite and follow alerts and thanks too for the silent readers who was willingly to spare your time to read this story. Luv you all =*

***Fairy**Tail***

**Disclaimer**,

Fairy Tail is in the hand of the best, Hiro Mashima

Chapter 16: **Kidnapping, Searching**

*Previously on Once Again, Live*

_"God, this is bad! We have to go back to Magnolia right now!" Erza stated in a panic__"If that Dragon Slayer of theirs, Roda, is capable of smelling people's scents like you, then he'll surely recognize Little Gray's scent from us__.__ They must be heading to Magnolia soon."_|| _Choir opened her mouth and began singing a soft and gentle song that was intended to make her victims fall asleep._||_Little Gray__ couldn't figure out what it was, but the feeling was getting worse and worse, like something was coming closer.__"I am going to block the train," Erza stated solemnly, and her audience gasped._||_"Let's move. Over there," said a man in well-tailored suit, pointing at a certain building at the end of the city. " We must move fast."_

***Fairy**Tail***

Natsu ran as fast as he could, as if his life depended on it. Magnolia was still far away, although he had passed the border of Fiore. Above him, the sun shone warmly, and it was supposed to be a nice day, but the Dragon Slayer didn't think so. He ran through the forest, using his turbo flames to propel himself to go faster, following the scent of the girl he believed had slowed them. But the scent was fading now. The girl had already gotten so far away.

Vaguely, he also smelled a rather familiar scent. He was sure it was the scent of that Lagor guy, Roda and some other scents that were completely unfamiliar to him. More bad news, it seemed. That girl wasn't alone.

Natsu quickened his pace even more, as fast as possible. It was as if his mind had been divided in two. One half was concentrated ahead, to where Magnolia and the little boy he needed to save was. The other half was thinking back, to where Erza was using all her strength to save people alone and letting Natsu go. He wondered if Erza was okay, and had managed to stop the train.

'_Don't think like that, Natsu! It's Erza, of course she'll never lose.'_

Shaking his head, Natsu tried to sweep the negative thoughts out of his mind. Forget Erza! She would be okay. For now, he needed to focus on what was ahead.

***Fairy**Tail***

Erza was panting. Her outstretched arms were stuck firmly on the smooth metal surface of the train's front. Just a moment ago, the train had finally stopped completely. Curious faces popped out of each window of the train, since they couldn't get out.

She felt like her legs had turned to jelly, as she had no strength to stand up straight, but she ignored it. Stopping a train without breaking it was a harder task than she had expected it to be. Erza looked backwards; just a few feet more, and her body would have been pinned between both trains. She was glad that she had finished her task in time and the people running away were saved.

The Titania slumped to her knees, trying to catch her breath. Her stamina had been drained and her armor had been changed to her usual outfit, although sweat soaked every inch of her skin. She wanted to take a rest so badly, but she knew she couldn't. No matter what, she had to catch up with Natsu.

***Fairy**Tail***

In Fairy Tail, everything seemed normal; there were some brawls, people chatting, drinking contests in every corner of the room. Well, that was what a certain boy thought. He preferred to sit lazily at the bar though, after having been practicing his magic and watching all the unique activities happening in the guild.

The front door opened gently, revealing a teen girl and a young man who stepped inside confidently. No one paid attention to those strangers, exclude Little Gray because those strangers walked straight towards him.

"Hello boy…" smirked the tall-thin young man with straw-colored hair. "I got you."

"Eh?"

"Come with me now," said the man, and he pulled Little Gray's hand rather harshly.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" Little Gray yelped. He glanced at Mirajane for help. But the barmaid didn't seem to care about the situation. Strange. "WHO are YOU?!"

"Oi oi, brat. Stop yelling, you're hurting my ears." The man frowned exasperatedly. "And what do you mean by 'who are you'?"

"I meant what I said, stranger! How come you're pulling me away like this?" Little Gray snapped, trying to shake his hand from the man's grip. The stranger seemed a bit surprised, loosening his grip.

"You mean you have no idea who I am, brat? Have you forgotten everything?" the stranger asked cautiously.

"What are you talking about? I don't know you!" Little Gray exclaimed.

"Liar!" the man snapped back.

"No, Roda. He was not lying." The purple-haired girl with the stranger named Roda spoke calmly. "His voice vibrates harmoniously, indicating that he speaks with complete honesty."

"Oh, really?" Roda examined Little Gray more closely, and he had to admit that he couldn't find any signs of the boy lying. "Well Choir, I know that I can't doubt you about this. Anyway, why doesn't he know me?" Roda turned his attention away from Little Gray and the boy instantly took the chance to attack.

"Ice make: LANCE!" Little Gray yelled, and lances from ice appeared and launched swiftly towards Roda and his partner. But to Gray's surprise, Roda dodged the attack without even looking. Instead, Little Gray was the one thrown backwards as some mysterious black thing punched him. The boy groaned when his back collided against the bar counter, and a silver necklace slipped from the boy's pants pocket without everyone's notice.

"Whoa, whoa… What's this? Your attack is much weaker than last time, boy," Roda said mockingly, and suddenly he was squatting in front of the little boy, lifting Little Gray's chin with his long index finger and thumb. Little Gray's eyes widened at the speed of the man. "What's with you?"

Little Gray didn't answer. He looked frantically from side to side, at his surroundings. It was clearly strange that no one was reacting to a guild mate being attacked by a total stranger. His eyes moved from Mirajane – who was closest to him – to Cana at another table and to everyone in the guild. But they were acting as if they hadn't seen a thing. Something was just not right, and Little Gray knew that this was bad for him.

"Confuse at what you see?" Roda cooed amusedly after seeing the expression Little Gray made.

"What happened to them?"

"Nothing much," Roda answered. "It's just our friend's work. Like… an illusion. The people here, they won't see anything. They didn't see both of us coming, and they won't see you being dragged away from this place. Their minds and their eyes will still assume that you've been sitting on that chair this whole time."

"No way…" Little Gray muttered in disbelief. Okay, now he was in a really bad situation and no one would realize it. What should he do now?

"Is that so?" Roda lifted an eyebrow. "Then look at this." He stood up and waved a hand in front of Mirajane's face. She gave no response and kept wiping the glass calmly. Gray swallowed hard.

"I think he… somehow, may have lost his memories," the girl called Choir spoke. Roda turned to her with a quizzical look to which Choir replied with a slight shrug.

"Is that right, kid?" Roda turned back to Little Gray, who was too shocked to even reply. "That's makes sense though. A traumatic incident happens and shocks his brain. How cliché," Roda sighed. "Well, whatever. I'll make you remember them soon though."

Roda stretched his hand out to reach for Little Gray, only to have the boy scream loudly and stand up, as if being awakened from a trance. "DON'T TOUCH ME! ICE MAKE: HAMMER!" And a large hammer of ice appeared, ready to slam down on the person beneath it. However, Roda rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers.

"It's useless, moron. I can shatter it into pieces easily."

Something dark wriggled upward from the ground beneath Roda. In no time, Little Gray realized that the dark thing was a shadow. It moved upwards like a snake and directly struck the hammer above. In one attack, Little Gray's hammer shattered into pieces. The boy's eyes widened in shock and horror. At once, he realized that the person he faced was extremely strong. But even know that, Little Gray knew he couldn't, and refused to give up. He made another stance, but before he could do anything else, a soft voice resounded into his ears, and he felt dizzy.

Within seconds, Little Gray's sight turned black as the feeling consumed him. With a soft thud, the little boy fell flat on the wooden floor, sleeping.

"Oi, Choir, remember I'm here and I have a pair of ears that are sharp as hell too," Roda scolded the girl who had just finished her lullaby. "What if I got hit by your magic and lost consciousness too?"

"You think I can't control my own magic? I can choose who will be affected by my song and who won't, so just shut up," Choir huffed in annoyance. "Besides, if you fell asleep as well, I could easily carry that thin body of yours. Or I'd just simply leave you here."

"You're such a meanie, gal."

"Thank you."

Roda approached the limp body of Little Gray and neatly tied it up with a special rope that prevented someone from using his magic.

"He lost his memories, huh? That's explains why he's this weak." Roda muttered and lifted the unconscious boy onto his shoulder like carrying a sack of potatoes. "What a shame."

"We got him. Now what?" Choir asked, staring at the face of the sleeping Little Gray.

"It's up to Lagor-sama. Maybe he'll charge some good amount of money for this boy. But personally, I'd make this boy our subordinate. He has power and good potential for a mage. All we would have to do is erase his memory and reorganize it so he'll always obey us," Roda said slyly.

"Brainwash him, huh? What a plan," Choir responded sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Let's go. The illusion Chagrain casted will wear off in a few minutes."

"Nonsense. The magic will wear off only if you touch the hologram of this boy. Chagrain told me so already, and you know that too. Relax, will you?" Now Roda rolled his eyes at his partner's impatience.

***Fairy**Tail***

Lucy felt that something was wrong. She couldn't figure out what, but for some time, she had been feeling restless. She stepped out from the guild's library room, rather dumbfounded. Nothing was wrong in the guild hall. Out of instinct, Lucy approached Little Gray who was still sitting quietly. After a moment, she found it was a bit strange. The boy was being too quiet. Usually, he would join a conversation with Cana or any other mage in the guild if he wasn't drinking something alone, but now, he only sat still on the chair without doing anything, spacing out.

"Gray-chan, what're you doing all alone here?" Lucy called and was about to touch the boy when suddenly the image in front of her faded until it completely disappeared. The blond girl yelped in surprise.

At the same time, she saw every single person in the building blinking as if they had just woken up from a trance.

"Eh? What happened? I feel like I'm missing something," Mirajane murmured softly, but loud enough for Lucy to hear. Meanwhile, on the other side of the hall, Cana blinked, seeing the contents of her barrel.

"Hey, where's my drink?"

The same thing was happening to the others. They were surprised for a few minutes and felt like they were missing something. But in the end, they all just shrugged it off, ignoring the confusion and going back to their previous activity. Until…

"Oh my God! It's dusk already! My wife is so going to kill me for being late!" Wakaba frantically yelled and rushed outside followed by the confused stares of the others. Lucy looked through the window and that was right, the sky was now orange in color. The sun was about to sink. Meanwhile, most of the people who had also just realized how late it was were once again confused.

'_It's dusk already? But I don't think I spent _that_ much time in the library,_' Lucy inwardly frowned.

"Lucy, don't you think it's a bit strange?" Lucy heard Mirajane whisper to her, so the blonde turned to face the barmaid. "I'm pretty sure that a _second_ ago it was still mid-day."

"That's right. I don't think we just skipped six straight hours without realizing it." Cana approached the two women with a serious expression. "I don't even remember drinking half my barrel already."

Believing that something was _really_ wrong, Lucy glanced around the hall again, and found no trace of Little Gray who—she thought—had just disappeared in front of her eyes. Panic started to consume her mind.

"Mirajane!" Lucy yelled frantically. The barmaid looked at her confusedly. "Do you know- do you know where Gray-chan is?!"

"What do you mean, Lucy?" asked the barmaid and tilted her head in wonder. "He's sitting right the-" Mirajane's words were cut off as she realized that the seat she was pointing at was totally empty. "He was there a moment ago." Mirajane frowned.

"Or six hours ago," Cana added slowly.

"That's just it, Mira! I don't care if you believe me or not, but I just saw him disappear _right_ in front of my eyes!" Lucy exclaimed, frantically running her fingers through her blond locks.

"My, my, calm down, Lucy. Are you sure you weren't imagining things?" Mirajane tried to reassure her, but Lucy could only gulp. She lowered her head.

'_Am I really just imagining everything?'_ Lucy thought. Maybe being in the dusty and cramped library room for so long had made her see things.

Until she saw something sparkling beneath the bar.

The blonde picked the object up, and instantly realized it was Little Gray's necklace. She wondered why it was just lying on the floor in a random place. Lucy knew very well that Little Gray liked the necklace so much that he was never seen without it. She examined the snowflake pendant on the chain, a memory of the morning flashing through her mind.

"_Oh no, Lucy-nee, the necklace is broken…" the little boy whined as he ran out of the bathroom in Lucy's apartment, showing her a broken silver chain on his palm._

"_My… don't worry, Gray-chan. We'll get it repaired soon." Lucy patted the boy's head. "We'll go to jewelry shop at three, okay? I have something to do anyway."_

"_Really? Thanks, Lucy-nee!" Little Gray jumped a little in happiness, making Lucy giggle at the action. She then saw Little Gray insert the necklace into his pants pocket._

"Isn't that Gray-chan's?" Mirajane's question interrupted Lucy thoughts.

"Yes, it is." Lucy nodded dumbly.

"But where is he?" Cana glanced around the hall.

Lucy's mind was clouded with confusion until she heard the front door being slammed open and their Fire Dragon Slayer suddenly appeared before them, looking exhausted yet… scared.

"Natsu!" Lucy exclaimed in surprise. She didn't think Natsu would be back from his mission with Erza this fast and so suddenly.

"Where's Erza, Natsu?" Mirajane frowned when Erza's presence was nowhere to be found. Besides, the expression Natsu had on… It was clear that somehow, something was wrong.

"Where's that brat?" Natsu panted, yet asking directly, making both women blink.

"You mean Gray-chan?" Lucy confirmed. Natsu nodded stiffly in response.

"Err… I don't know. I was just about to go look for him-…" Lucy said.

Hearing this, Natsu's eyes widened and he roared, "Don't tell me he's been kidnapped!"

Lucy and Mirajane blinked again, shocked, and the remainder of the members in the guild who heard the Dragon Slayer's roar fell silent.

"What?"

***Fairy**Tail***

He was in a forest, panting, exhausted as if a large amount of his stamina had been drained at once. He was leaning on something hard behind him, something big and cold. A wall?

"Gray…" he heard Natsu's voice call from beyond the wall.

"Go," he said fiercely. "I told you… I'd get this guy."

"But you just used too much magic power!"

"Whatever! Get going!" he shouted.

Natsu's eyes softened, but his companion didn't see it. "Gray…" the pink-haired boy murmured.

"He's not getting past here! Not even over my dead body!" he said determinedly, giving the opponent before him a glare. "Go! To where Erza is!"

Natsu hesitated for a second, before taking off and running quickly while carrying the unconscious Wendy and the two Exceeds. "I'm definitely gonna save Erza, you bet I will!" Natsu shouted as he ran, making the ice mage smirk.

"Damn right you are."

Then, for the first time, the scene blurred and changed. He was in a different location now, but he was sure it was the same forest. The same opponent from before was now lying unconscious a few meters from him, Lyon, and a pink-haired girl named Sherry.

"You did it Lyon," he praised the white-haired boy who sat beside him.

"We still got five more of these guys," Lyon replied.

"I thought you were really fighting back there," Sherry breathed in relief.

"I'd expect nothing less from the older pupil." He smirked, which was replied by a snort from Lyon. "Can you stand?" He offered a hand but Lyon simply turned his face away.

"Don't make fun of me."

"IT'S NOT OVER!" yelled Racer who—without them noticing—had suddenly stood up despite the exhaustion. "I swear, on the name of Oracion Seis, if I go down in defeat, I will take you with me!" Racer opened his jacket, revealing what was hidden within it.

"That's…"

"An explosive Lacryma…" Sherry finished the sentence in a horrified whisper.

He was planning to die with his enemies. Like the crazy man he was, Racer ran towards him laughing maniacally. He took the stance to use his magic but all of a sudden, the dark-haired boy fell to his knees.

'_Crap… why do I have to run out of magical power now?!_'

He thought the worst about to happen. Racer would drag him into the explosion and he was going to die.

At least, that was what he thought before he saw Lyon leaping out from behind, towards their enemy.

"Lyon!"

"Lyon-sama!"

Racer fell over the cliff with Lyon. Everything seemed to move in slow-motion. They fell and the bomb exploded.

And then, it happened again. The memory changed as if at the moment, his brain was trying to stuff itself with as many memories as possible. However, this new vision was… somehow very different from the others.

It was cold. No, not because of the weather, but because of the atmosphere. Around him was nothing but cold, numbness and desperation. It was also dark. He couldn't feel anything positive like warmth or light. Everything was just so horrible.

He was crouching down in one corner of a bedroom. Actually, he didn't really know if it was a bedroom or not, but a feeling told him so. He was in _his_ bedroom.

He sobbed lightly. His whole body was in pain. Arms, feet, especially his back… it stung, it hurt so much. Those cuts and bruises needed to be treated, but he couldn't. And no one would.

He heard the sound of a door cracking open. He flinched. Something was coming. A square of light was now forming in the dark room, but there was a silhouette of a person blocking half of the precious light. He looked up in horror as the person came in. His wounds suddenly stung even more. He knew something – another awful thing was going to happen to him. He was going to get a punishment.

'_Haven't I had enough?_' he whimpered inwardly. A tear escaped his eyes but he did not dare to let out a single sound, afraid that it would anger the person even more.

***Fairy**Tail***

Little Gray blinked, slowly coming out of unconsciousness. At first, he saw nothing but darkness and it only reminded him of the dream he had before. And at the same time, he felt his back ache and sting. He wondered what had actually happened in the last dream. Usually, when he had a vision, even if it was as short as a second, he knew immediately what had happened after it. When he had seen Lyon fall from the explosion, he already knew that Lyon had somehow escaped from it.

But the last vision of him in the dark room, it was different. That vision… he couldn't remember the continuation of it, as if the memory had been blocked. That was strange. Besides the vision, there were some strange feelings growing in him. Fear, pain, and especially hatred. So much hatred.

Something wet rolled down his face from his eyes. Little Gray frowned and immediately wiped the liquid away. Tears? Was he crying? How come? What was making him cry? He couldn't tell at all. But the one thing he knew for sure was that the vision, or rather, the memory he had before was a very bad one. It was the cause of all the negative feelings. He wondered, was it his memory, or Gray Fullbuster's?

Deep in thought as he was, he didn't realize someone had entered the room and stood beside him. Little Gray only looked up when he heard a voice talking to him.

"Good, you're finally awake," said a girlish voice. It was Choir and she was holding a tray of food and drink. Seeing the girl's face, Little Gray immediately remembered what had happened back then to him.

"Where am I?!" He jolted up to stand but then realized that his legs were tied.

"I don't know either. We just happened to find this building on the way to Vangle." Choir put the tray near the little boy on the floor. "Eat."

Little Gray stared at the tray's content, gulping. He was aware of how hungry he was. But, was it safe to eat the food from the enemy?

"I did nothing to the food. It'll be okay if you eat it." Choir sighed and sat on a chair in the room, ready to watch the little boy.

"Why did you take me away?" Little Gray asked.

Choir raised an eyebrow, examining the boy's expression before replied, "You really know nothing, huh?" She swept some invisible dust from her purple gothic dress. "Let's put it this way. You're our asset and we're just taking back what's ours, got it?"

"Me? Your asset?" Little Gray frowned, not understanding the words.

"What's your name?" Choir asked back.

"My name? It's Gray. What's with that?"

"Are you sure if that is your real name?" she narrowed her eyes. Little Gray was taken aback by it. "Looks like you really don't know who you actually are." Choir sighed and stood from the chair, ready to leave.

"Wait!" Little Gray abruptly called. "What do you mean? Your asset? The real me?"

"I have no right to tell you." Choir stopped at the door frame. "But if you insist, I'll only tell you one thing. Arian Clain. Does that sound familiar to you?"

"Arian Clain? Who's that?" Little Gray muttered. Choir shrugged in reply. She didn't have any intention to tell the boy more.

"I told you, I have no right to leak any information to you. Now just eat the food, since we don't know when the next time we'll be able to afford any for you will be," Choir threatened, and took her leave.

Swallowing hard from the threat, Little Gray stared at his food which was nothing but bread, meat, cheese and a glass of water. His stomach growled impatiently so he hesitantly grabbed the bread.

***Fairy**Tail***

"Natsu! Slow down a bit, will you?!" Lucy panted, racing after the pink-haired man many meters ahead of her. But instead, Natsu ignored Lucy and quickened his pace.

"Tsk! That guy's got no idea what being 'patient' and 'careful' means," growled Cana, a step behind Lucy.

"Aye." Happy followed the three mages in the air. Even from afar and in the darkness, he could still see Natsu's angry expression ahead.

"Shut up! We need to move fast or we're gonna lose him!" Natsu snapped. In fact, he heard every word both women and the Exceed said.

"I know we have to be fast, but that doesn't mean we have to rush things!" Cana snapped back, trying to make him see logic. "We have to be careful too. Who knows what the enemies put up ahead?" Natsu didn't answer, but let out an annoyed groan.

"Geez… So this is the attitude of an S-class mage. So impatient, and thinks he doesn't have to be careful at all," Cana mumbled sarcastically. But she was ignored by the others.

Meanwhile, Lucy didn't comment. She agreed with Cana about not rushing things and being careful. But really, she wanted to go fast too, to be as fast—and even faster—as Natsu, even though she had been the one first complaining about the pace Natsu was going. She was sick with worrying about the little boy, and feeling guilty and stupid for not being able to protect the kid. That was why she wanted to find the boy as soon as possible, as Lucy remembered what had happened when Natsu stormed into the guild.

"_What do you mean by kidnapped?" Lucy frantically yelped. The day had been full of tension even without the suspicion that her adoptive little boy was taken by strangers. Natsu opened his mouth but he had no idea what to say or how to start. Groaning in annoyance, he then started by showing Lucy the file of Arian Clain._

"_We found these in that market's basement, and after reading it, Erza thought that the people from the market are gonna come after him no matter what." Natsu watched as Lucy's mouth fell agape, followed by Mirajane and Cana doing the same as they read over Lucy's shoulder. He could tell that Lucy was rereading it over again to make sure she hadn't made a mistake. "The Arian Clain in the file must be that brat."_

"_He has some kind of connection with that market since… well, he was once a slave there to be sold?" Cana frowned, still doubting the story._

"_Hey, now that you mention it…" Lucy muttered, "I remember Gray-chan telling me that he felt something when he heard of Vangle City."_

"_What did he say?" a deep voice asked. The three were startled at the sudden appearance of Laxus._

"_Sorry I overheard your conversation, but I guess I have my place here since it's related to a safety of this guild member," Laxus said. "…and I suppose that those files are for me?"_

"_He just said he was scared. Could it be that deep down, those memories still affect him? I mean even though he said he forgot everything, the memories of the trauma still exist?" Lucy asked, giving her opinion._

"_I think that might be the case." This time, a golden light glowed and Loke was suddenly there right beside his master. "He said the same thing to me. It's not that strange that humans would want to forget horrible things that have happened to them. The same thing goes for Gray."_

"_Why're people starting to pop outta nowhere?" Natsu growled, but no one paid attention to him._

"_I'd never expected that little boy would have this kind of horrible past," Mirajane said finally, covering her mouth and lowering her gaze in sympathy. _

"_NATSUU~~" They heard a squealed and next thing happened was Happy hugging Natsu's face._

"_Oof! Ha- Happy." The Dragon Slayer gasped at the sudden lack of oxygen._

"_Everyone, where's Gray-chan?" Wendy asked while rushing toward the group followed by the flying Carla._

"_He's nowhere to be seen now. What's wrong, Wendy?" Mirajane frowned seeing the anxious expression Wendy put on._

"_Natsu! It's bad! Moment ago… err, maybe hours ago, Carla got a vision about Gray. And… it's bad!" Happy chirped in panic._

"_Actually I'm not sure of what I saw, but… I can tell it's not good," Carla spoke and landed gracefully on the hall wooden floor._

"_What's that?"_

"_It was dark actually, but vividly I saw that kid crouching on the floor, whimpering in… pain."_

"_That's it! That's the last straw! We gotta go and save that brat! He's in danger now!" Natsu roared impatiently. Clearly he had been holding himself back during the conversation before._

"_Hold it, Natsu. Don't go rushing things. I'm sure that right _now_, that kid is safe," Laxus said calmly, smacking the top of Natsu's head to settle him._

"_What makes you so sure?" Natsu snapped angrily, rubbing his head._

"_If they want that boy to be sold, then they're not going to harm him. And we don't know the exact time of Carla's vision, whether it's later, tomorrow, or even days from now."_

"_So what?! We still need to save him!" Natsu stubbornly insisted._

"_Don't get me wrong, we _will_ save him," Laxus said annoyedly. "But we need to be patient and organize a plan. Remember that our opponent this time was tough and clever enough to be able to cast a strong illusion magic around the whole city and the guild for this long."_

"_Illusion magic?" Natsu raised an eyebrow._

"_Yes, it seems like that the enemies made us 'space out' so we didn't even realize that we wasted half a day in a blink. When we noticed, it was already dusk," Wendy explained, and Natsu nodded though he didn't fully understand._

"_By the way, where's Erza? Aren't you two supposed to be back together?" Laxus asked. Natsu was silent for a moment before he told them what had happened in the railway and how a teenage girl mage disrupted their journey._

"_I honestly have no idea what happened to her next. She didn't catch up with me even after these hours," Natsu ended his story then fell silent. The others exchanged worried looks._

"_It's Erza we're talking about. I'm sure she could manage it," Loke said calmingly._

"_You're right. Now let's get back to the plan," Laxus said, regaining everyone's full attention again. "Those mages aren't anything to laugh at. If they're as strong as we think, then I'm sure they won't take an obvious route back to their base."_

"_By 'obvious' route you mean…?"_

"_A route that many people use. They'd take the most deserted way to travel in order to avoid suspicion."_

"_So it's useless if we start the search at the train station or the route pedestrians usually use," Lucy mumbled._

"_That's right. But the possibility still exists though it's small."_

_It was decided by Laxus that one group of mages would be sent to track the kidnappers at the train station and main road. Wendy, who could help search with her sharp nose, and Warren, with his telepathy, would be part of that group. Another group with Natsu would be sent to search around Magnolia. It was inconvenient that most of the mages were out on missions at the moment, especially Gajeel, whose nose was just as sharp was Natsu's and Wendy's, so they could not expect to find the kidnapper more quickly._

_It was when Natsu, Happy, Lucy, and Cana were searching the eastern part of Magnolia that Natsu smelled something familiar. It was so vivid that Natsu was sure it was the scent he was looking for: the scent of little Gray mixed up with some other scents he didn't recognize. The scents led to the forest of Magnolia, and Natsu didn't think twice about following it along with Lucy and Cana who knew better than to doubt a Dragon Slayer's senses._

***Fairy**Tail***

So here they were now. Running through a forest without any light but the full moon's shining in a black sky. They had been running for about an hour, but still hadn't found any clues about the kidnapper except for their scent. Occasionally Natsu would stop and sniff the air to redetect the scents. He didn't seem tired at all, whether it was from his Dragon Slayer physique or from the desire to find his comrade quickly. But that wasn't the case for Lucy or Cana, who were panting hard and feeling their feet ache from running.

"Natsu, let us take a break for a minute!" Cana breathed in and out while Lucy had slumped onto the soil of the ground, panting.

"No way! The scents are getting fainter, and they're still going on so far!" Natsu snapped. "If we don't move fast, we'll lose them!"

"Come on, Natsu! There must be another way other than rushing like this. Why don't we just call for the help of people in the guild?" Cana snapped back.

"Tellin' them's only gonna waste our time, and there _is_ no 'other way'. If you can't catch up to me, then fine. I'll go on my own," Natsu said sternly, and turned to start running again. "We can't lose them. I'd rather die than let that happen," Natsu added softly.

"Natsu! Why you-!" Cana growled, ready to start another argument. But a touch stopped her. Lucy had stood up and calmingly squeezed Cana's shoulder. Cana stared at Lucy's soft expression for a moment before sighing in defeat.

"You really do care about Gray-chan, don't you?" Lucy said softly, turning her warm gaze to Natsu's back. The Dragon Slayer said nothing in response, acting as if he hadn't heard anything, even though everyone there knew he did.

Without anyone knowing it, Natsu's face turned a bit red.

***Fairy**Tail***

Thanks for reading, I hope you like it as much as I enjoy writing it ^^

A rather bad news here it seems… that I'm going to be semi-hiatus for the time being. No, I'm not going to completely stop writing, but I'm going to be super-slow in writing. Don't be surprised if the later chapter will come out in months. I need to focus on my study from now on, at least until… April or maybe May. I know I ever once complained about this. But this stupid thing called National Exam is getting on my nerve. Just imagine it, I have to bet my three-whole-years (actually it's just two years and ten months) hard work in senior high on a six-simple-days exam! That is just… unfair. Moreover, I also have to study harder to get into a good university. Wish me luck guys~~~

One thing for sure is that I'm going to finish this story, even if it takes months or even years! I want to put the words 'the end' in this story someday. ^^

However, I'll try to spare a little of my time to write. I'm not completely hiatus, remember? :D


	17. Chapter 17 Rescue, Awakening

Hello there, I'm back again in this new year. Happy New Year all... 2013, and 13 is my favorite number ^^)/ *well, it's not too important* Anyway, it remind me, though it's a bit late but it had been a year since this story officially published. Yay! I'd never expected it will take that long XD

So first, let me thank _**Kairaita**_ for beta-ing this chapter. Without her, this story won't be as good as right now ;)

**blue wolf loves red phoenix** : Thank you very much for your review and support. I'm struggling with the books right now ;)

**Shaman Shinobi** : LoL… so many questions. They'll be answered soon… be patient~~ Oh, and thanks for reviewing anyway ^^

**AnimeMangaVicki** : Thank you so much. I'll do my best ^^

**Rewinsan** : How did it happen will soon be found on… later chapter, LoL. Thanks for the review and support… wish you luck too for your national exam next year ;)

**Laila Yagami** : She's my favorite OC XD I kinda like the cute little kid with brat-like attitude, LoL. It's not like the didn't search for Little Gray, they did. But only Natsu who happened to find his track first without bother to tell the others. And I'm sorry… I need to torture this cute Little Gray a bit more… kehehehe…. ^^ Thanks for your review anyway~~~

**IcedSoulFairy** : Thanks for the review… and your guess isn't completely wrong ;) Wah, so you're in the same grade as me? Let's wish ourselves luck then :D

**Fullbusterrulesmyheart** : Nah… that's okay… I receive review whenever you want to give me ;) LoL, as fujoshi we sure are sensitive about that kind of thing, no? XD Anyway, thanks for the review~~~

**Junday** : Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! X3 You read it 8 times already? Wow! I appreciate it so much! But this story won't be as good as this without my beta reader XD So the praise should come to her too =3

**Future Nekomata** : Awww… thanks for reviewing… wanna tissue? ;)

**Dreamscometrue401** : hahaha… you got it right. Thank you for the review… And yeah, Kairaita is my beta reader, it explains my improved language skill that actually is horrible ^^'

**BigTimeRush** : Thank you very much! X3 And I completely agree with you, losing someone important can change someone ^^ I'll continue it… *but it will be a bit slow*

**IlliaLife** : You're welcome~~ I'm glad you enjoy the story ^^ And thank you for the review, it makes my day X) Kairaita also has the role in this story ^^

Really guys… thank you so much for the reviews. They're awesome! Thank you too for favorite-ing the story also for reading it. Lot of kisses for you~~~ ^,^

***Fairy**Tail***

**Disclaimer**,

Fairy Tail is Hiro Mashima's. Everyone know it.

Chapter 17: Rescue, Awakening

*Previously on Once Again, Live*

"Come with me now," said the man, and he pulled Little Gray's hand rather harshly.||"I think he… somehow, may have lost his memories," the girl called Choir spoke. Roda turned to her with a quizzical look to which Choir replied with a slight shrug.||… I don't care if you believe me or not, but I just saw him disappear _right_ in front of my eyes!" Lucy exclaimed, frantically running her fingers through her blond locks.||Natsu's eyes widened and he roared, "Don't tell me he's been kidnapped!"||"You really do care about Gray-chan, don't you?" Lucy said softly, turning her warm gaze to Natsu's back.

***Fairy**Tail***

When Choir returned to the room where her companions were, she found Roda and Lagor were debating about something. And she had a suspicion of what it was about.

"I can't agree about just selling him to random people. It'll make us less profit," Roda said. Though it was apparent he was upset about the debate, he still attempted to act polite towards his so-called boss.

Meanwhile, Lagor simply observed the dusty windowsill of the old building they were in. With a bored face, the leader replied, "Less profit, huh? The amount of jewels those people offer isn't something you'd call "less", you know."

"I'm not talking about material profit. It's… it's something related to what he could do for us," Roda muttered.

"And what is that?"

"You know he has potential to be a great fighter. He could be a huge help to us."

For a second, Lagor glanced at Roda as if he was insane. "And I thought you wanted to beat the crap out of the brat badly? Making him into our subordinate obviously wouldn't give you that satisfaction."

"Selling him wouldn't give me that either," Roda breathed, but it seemed like the latter didn't hear him.

"Okay… okay… let's talk about this later, shall we?" Lagor sighed. He then stared at the starless dark sky through the dirty window. "I need my sleep."

In response, Roda reluctantly agreed. No matter how much he disagreed with the man, he just couldn't win against him. Although he knew he was much stronger than Lagor, he couldn't beat the mean that easily. He still owed him a big debt.

"Make sure you don't let your guard down. Who knows when those fairies will make their move," Lagor warned the group of other people in the room before he disappeared behind the nearest door.

"Bossy as usual," growled the palest one, Vessel, who was sitting lazily on an old couch.

"Do you guys really think that those mages could survive the train crash I set them in?" Choir asked with both hands on her hips.

"No. My apologies, Choir, but it's impossible that S-class mages of Fairy Tail would be beaten by such a trap," answered Chagrain, the most polite among the group. Choir pouted, and Vessel snorted at her reaction.

"Heh, you're so naïve as usual," he mocked. The only girl there shot him a glare.

"At least I'm doing something useful. Not like someone else in here."

"Your tongue is as sharp as usual, chick." Vessel straightened from his position and stuck his hand out threateningly toward the girl. "How about I suck your sweet blood a little to shut that mouth of yours?"

"Oh, I'm shaking." Choir rolled her eyes. "Before that, I'd have your eardrums burst nicely," she threatened back sarcastically.

"Stop it, you two," Roda said sharply upon seeing Vessel stand up and prepare an attack on Choir. Vessel clicked his tongue angrily and sat back down while Choir stuck her tongue out towards him.

It had been hours since the group had left Magnolia, long before the Fairy Tail mages would have awakened from their trance. Based on Roda's information, they decided to escape through a rarely traversed forest, believing it would lead them outside the city. Whether it was by luck or not, before midnight, they had found this old building that seemed to have been a large factory.

"Tell me again why we have to stay all night in here instead of going straight home?" Choir asked, breaking the silence among the group.

The illusionist of the group sighed. "We'll wait until the situation has calmed. In other words, we are waiting until the Fairy Tail mages have declared this area clear and decided that what they are searching for is not here," Chagrain explained.

Hearing this, she snorted mockingly. "That's a lame plan. I don't know them well, but from the stories I've heard, Fairy Tail mages aren't 'half-hearted' in doing their jobs, especially if it concerns the safety of their members."

"If you mean 'they won't give up', that's fine. In fact, that's even better," Roda muttered to himself, although Chagrain heard and raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing." Roda shrugged.

"Nah, just say that you want to fight them. Like me." On the other side of the room, Vessel snorted. "This mission is boring, you know? I mean, why did Lagor-sama bring us all just to pick up that boy?"

"He just miscalculated things," Chagrain replied slowly.

"Don't worry. If you guys want some action for this boredom, it'll be here soon," Roda smirked, confusing the others except for Granton. He had been silent in the corner of the room since the conversation started, but now he suddenly spoke up.

"The earth is shaking. They're coming closer," he stated.

"Who?" Choir asked.

"Those Fairies, of course." Roda brought his gaze to the dark sky that was visible through the window.

"There are three of them," Chagrain said. With his earth magic, he was able to detect the enemy through the tremors in the ground. "Hmm… it's vague, but there are two more following, though they are still rather far."

"There're five, huh? Okay…" Roda sighed, looking as if he was slightly disappointed over something. "So, who will kindly 'welcome' them?"

"And don't forget. The Salamander is mine."

***Fairy**Tail***

"The smell stops here," Natsu muttered, confusedly looking around.

"But where are they?" Lucy, as confused as Natsu, looked around to see nothing but a wide, empty area among the tall trees.

"They must be around here. Maybe it's some trick of their magic?" Cana took a few steps toward the area. "Nothing is strange here."

"They're here, I know it," Natsu said. "Hey, come out here, you cowards!" he then shouted into the dark.

Lucy, Cana, and Happy exchanged glances in confusion, but then followed Natsu's gaze. They saw nothing but darkness at first, but moments later, the silhouettes of a teenage girl and a large man came into view, walking closer every moment.

"Lagor-sama would hate it if we gave out our location to the enemy instead of hiding it," said a deep voice, most likely the larger figure.

"But we'll have some fun, Granton," replied a high-pitched, girlish voice.

"It's you again," Natsu growled, his eyes narrowing. "I remember that voice and scent."

"Oh, wow. Thank you, Salamander," replied the girl flatly, though she didn't feel impressed at all.

Finally, they could clearly see the newcomers once they were only a few meters apart. One was a teenage girl with long, purplish hair. Her skin was like porcelain and her eyes were abnormally pink in a creepy way. She would look completely like a beautiful doll if not for her bored expression.

Her companion was a middle-aged man with a large body. His muscles were visible to the point that he looked as if he could crush a rock bare-handed – perhaps he could. He wore a blindfold, though he seemed to have no trouble walking properly without seeing. His clothes were ragged and shredded to reveal the rough sin of his arms. And lastly, he wasn't wearing shoes.

"What a pair," Cana snorted. "What's with their clothes?"

"Where's that brat?!" Natsu shouted. "Where's Gray?!" His second question suddenly startled him as well as Lucy and Happy, while Cana appeared to not notice. Natsu had called Little Gray just 'Gray'.

"Who's Gray? Or do you mean Arian Clain?" Choir raised an eyebrow.

The Fairies blinked at the statement, mixed between disbelief and shock.

"So, that's really his name?" Lucy muttered.

"Tsk, I don't care what you call him. But he's part of Fairy Tail and you kidnapped him from us. Now we want him back!" Natsu declared. Choir crossed her arms at this.

"Yours? Excuse me, but I think you've made a mistake. He wasn't yours to begin with. He was part of us, in Vangle."

"I don't think selling him as a slave would be considered as _part_ of you," Natsu snorted.

"Of course it is. We bought him from some freak woman who needed money badly enough to sell him. When we bought him, he became ours. And by being ours, we're free to treat him any way we desire, so we have the right while you don't," Choir said sharply.

Natsu's body began to shake. Gritting his teeth, he hissed, "Gray isn't a thing, you bastard! He's a human being and he's part of Fairy Tail whether you like it or not!"

"That's right! If you don't want to give him back nicely, it's fine." It was Lucy who spoke next. She gripped her Fleuve d'étoiles whip threateningly, taking a step forward and sending their opponents a deathly glare.

"Because we'll make you do so by force." Cana also took a step forward. Her cards were ready in her hand and her eyes were narrowed in anger.

"You two…" Natsu stared wide-eyed at the suddenly raging girls in front of him.

"Scary…" Happy whined, sinking his face into Natsu's pink locks.

"Let's do this in the Fairy Tail way, Natsu," Cana grinned at the younger man.

"If they don't allow us to pass, then we'll simply knock them out in order to pass," Lucy said solemnly.

"Who are you and what have you done to our Lucy?" Happy squeaked in fear again. The suddenly raging and eager for a fight Lucy was an uncommon sight for him.

Seeing the girls' reaction, Choir exhaled tiredly. "Who said that none of you can pass?" she said, startling the Fairies.

"Eh?"

"Only Salamander can pass while you and you…" Choir pointed at Lucy and Cana. "…can choose either to stay here or go back home."

"What's that about?" Lucy snapped angrily.

"Roda wants to talk to you privately, Salamander," said Granton. "He's waiting in there."

"And don't even think of trying to sneak in, you two," Choir added sharply. "The building we're in is protected by Chagran's illusion magic. It isn't visible and can't be detected from the outside unless you have 'permission' from us." She pointed at the empty air behind her, apparently indicating where the building was.

The Fairies turned silent, and Natsu especially wondered about this Roda guy's motives as well as about the protection Choir was talking about. Until finally Lucy spoke up.

"Go, Natsu."

"Huh?"

"Let us deal with these two while you go in and rescue Gray," Cana said, picking a card.

Natsu looked from his female guildmates to their opponent hesitantly, trying to assure himself that it would be okay if he left everything to the girls. Making his choice, Natsu exhaled. "I'll leave everything here to you girls," he said, before taking off running with Happy clinging onto his head. As he passed Choir and Granton, Natsu glanced to the side at Choir, his eyes meeting hers in a glare.

***Fairy**Tail***

His head hurt so badly, but he tried his best to hide his painful expression. It was easy enough to do though, because his 'guard' named Chagrain who was apparently in charge of watching him didn't show anything that indicated he noticed their hostage's pain. Or maybe, Chagrain merely did not care about it.

Cornering himself in the dark room, Little Gray desperately hugged and buried his face in his knees, hoping it would decrease the pain. Unfortunately, it was in vain. His head continued to feel as if it was being beaten by an invisible heavy object. And the cause of the pain, strangely, was just at the mention of a name: Arian Clain.

At first, hearing the name had done nothing to him. But as time passed, he started thinking about it, having a feeling that whoever that name belonged to, it had something to do with him. And the more he thought about it, the more pain he felt in his head. So then, he tried to sleep. He knew well that it wasn't a good time to take a nap, but he couldn't bear the pain anymore. He didn't care anymore whether he was a hostage or not. All he wanted was to get rid of the pain.

***Fairy**Tail***

Roda stared around the big hall he was in, waiting. Somehow, he was amazed by the size of the building they were right now. It had been a lucky break that they coincidently found this building halfway home. Having apparently been a factory once, it was large and had many corridors branching out in every direction. It was the farthest thing from nice-looking, having dirty walls, rat holes, cracked floors, and broken water pipes that made the entire place damp and covered in puddles. In other words, it was a typical place a girl like Choir wouldn't like. No wonder she kept complaining about the tiniest things.

'_But this place is perfect, so perfect._' Roda smirked.

Totally perfect for luring a fire-eater inside.

***Fairy**Tail***

"I smell them… this way!" she sniffed the air and ran toward the forest. "I think they have gone farther. The smell is fading."

"That's okay, Wendy. At least we know where they're heading." Wendy's companion nodded, appreciating her effort before following the female Dragon Slayer.

"You came at the right time," Wendy said while concentrating for the scent. "With your help, we can save Gray-chan more easily."

"I don't think I'll be a big help," she replied quietly. "My stamina has been drained by quite a large amount. Thanks to that, I was late."

"You'll be able to do it." Wendy stared at her companion.

"Thanks," she smiled. "For now, let's rely on Natsu. I hope he does his job well."

***Fairy**Tail***

"I won't let you touch my friends," he stated firmly. Even if he knew that they did not have the upper hand, he couldn't just give up. That world's royal army had completely surrounded them; dozens of them while he and his comrades were only five in total, including two exceeds. In addition, their stamina had already been drained drastically due to their previous fights and to stop that stupid flying island.

But he knew that he just couldn't surrender. He knew the Dragon Slayers were also doing their best to beat that artificial dragon and he knew that Erza was fighting hard against her counterpart. And so he, Lucy, a girl he had no idea what the name of and both exceeds—Happy and Carla, decided to give their best to beat those soldiers.

It wasn't like he was being pessimistic, but he had expected it. They wouldn't make it. They were losing in number. They were too tired to win against the royal army with their powerful weapons and their fresh forces. So then in the end, they could do nothing but lie sprawled on the ground, exhausted and beaten in surrender.

Until a hope came.

A small sprout appeared from the soil and became bigger, forming a giant tree with the Fairy Tail banner hung on the front. Seeing it, he wanted to laugh in relief as loud as he could. Help had come, and they were saved.

Again, something happened with his vision. The whole scene changed after the first scene, blurring little by little. He wasn't lying on the soil ground anymore, but a rough, cold cement floor. He was shaking, but more because of fear than coldness. Everything around him was unclear since it was dark. He had no idea whether everything was indeed dark or if it was something with his eyes when nothing could be seen clearly.

He saw—no, he felt something being thrown at him so he immediately raised his hands in an attempt to protect his head from whatever was coming. Then he felt something cold, smooth, and hard hit his hands, breaking into sharp pieces that cut his skin until it started bleeding. It was a bottle.

"Disappear from my sight, you brat!" a woman yelled. He felt so familiar with the voice but he couldn't see her face. He then felt a thin, bare foot kick his stomach.

"Aah!" He let out a groan of pain. His voice was so low and weak. He wondered what had happened to him. However, he immediately realized, letting out any sound was a wrong move.

"Oh! Being whiny, huh?" the woman hissed, clearly angry. "You think I would pity you if you sound like that?! You think I would feel guilty if you do so?! Keep dreaming, kid!" She then kicked him aside. He wanted to let out a groan again, but he held it back.

"Because of you my husband left me! Because of you I lost my job! Because of you I become poor! Because of you my family threw me away! All is because of YOU! YOU RUINED MY LIFE! YOU MADE ME LOSE EVERYTHING! YOU CURSED CHILD!" she screamed like crazy and kept throwing several physical attacks toward his small body. He couldn't hold his whimper and sobs but it seemed like the woman didn't notice, or that she merely didn't care, for she was busy screaming and hitting the boy.

When the attacks finally stopped, he felt her roughly lift his chin. He was forced to stare her straight in the eyes and all he could see was a pair of turbid teal orbs. Those eyes narrowed as they stared back at his onyx ones.

"I can't tell whether you're grateful or to regretting being born," she murmured. He could smell a strong scent of alcohol from her breath. This woman was drunk and he absolutely didn't like it at all. "But this once, Arian dear… make yourself useful for momma," she purred in a creepy way, sending chills through his spine.

"Momma needs money so badly right now. You stay at Vangle city, how does that sound?"

He could tell that she sneered devilishly.

***Fairy**Tail***

Little Gray opened his eyes abruptly and found himself still in the room where he was trapped. As dark as before and he was all alone. He got up and saw his hands were wet from a cold sweat, as well as his temple.

"I knew taking a nap was a bad idea," he muttered to himself. His breaths were still uneven and his head still ached painfully. He was beginning to get annoyed with the visions. Lately, it was… as if they were being stuffed all at once into his mind, flowing uncontrollably into his head like a wall dam breaking with water forcefully bursting out. And honestly, it was driving him crazy.

He recalled his previous 'dream' and shivered, thinking about the last one. That was a harsh past—if he really believed it was a past scene. Whoever that past had belonged to, he had been really unwanted. What a pity it was to have a mother who would sell her own son, as far as he could tell from the contents of the dream. He wondered who the poor boy was, and as he thought about it, he was sure that the mother had mentioned a name. What was it again…

_Arian_.

Arian…? As in, Arian Clain?

"_But if you insist, I'll only tell you one thing. _Arian Clain_. Does that sound familiar to you?"_

Suddenly, the girl's statement from before popped into his mind. She talked as if Arian Clain had something to do with him, something important. But what was it?

Little Gray sank into thought again, ignoring the pain in his head. He tried to connect all the pieces he knew right now. First, that there was some sort of connection between him and the name Arian Clain. Then, the dream he had before of someone's past, knowing that it was the same Arian Clain's. Lastly, the way Choir told him the same name, as if she had been expecting some sort of reaction that would satisfy her.

Finally something clicked, and his head snapped up. Eyes widened at the new discovery, at the new surprising guess.

"There's no way I'd have someone else's memories in me," he muttered in shock. Except for Gray Fullbuster's because of the certain circumstances they were in. But still, it was impossible that he had Arian Clain's memories in his head, the memories from Arian's point of view itself, except if…

"I _am_ Arian Clain."

***Fairy**Tail***

"The gate of Scorpio, I open thee!" Lucy swung her golden key and the scorpion spirit appeared out of nowhere. Without waiting for further command, he launched his sand attack toward Choir who gracefully dodged it, amazing her opponents.

Scorpio attacked again with his other technique, this time a geyser of sand being shot from underground right beneath the voice mage. But again, Choir jumped up, dodging, right before the bursts of sand touched the tip of her shoes. Scorpio started to get annoyed by his master's young opponent and launched another attack, again and again from different angles but the result was still the same, Choir could dodge it all without breaking any sweat.

Meanwhile, Lucy watched as her spirit fought, observing. She saw that all Choir was doing was dodging, letting Scorpio attack without any indication of countering. Lucy wondered why. Somehow, she could tell that this girl was the one who had blocked Natsu and Erza's way back home with her magic.

_So… What if this girl can't actually fight? I mean, maybe she can't physically attack and is the kind of mage who only relies on her magic? It seems that she's a long-distance fighter_, Lucy thought, processing the data in her mind as she observed. "Usually dragging this sort of fighter into a short-distance fight should work," she mumbled and picked another key.

"Enough, Scorpio. You can back to the spirit realm now," Lucy commanded.

"I'm sorry for not being useful enough, Lucy," Scorpio mumbled as he disintegrated into the light.

"No, you did a great job," Lucy smiled.

***Fairy**Tail***

Cana had been separated from Lucy's side, though she was still in the same location with the large opponent named Granton. The fight had begun with Granton throwing huge boulders at her, but Cana was able to dodge it all easily and she dashed forward with a bunch of cards ready in hand. Granton stood stiffly in the same spot, but with his guard up. With her speed, Cana was behind the earth-element mage in no time, but just when she was about to throw a magic card, a pillar of rock suddenly emerged beneath her and hit her square on the chin.

"Argh!" she groaned as she was thrown backwards, landing on the rough ground back first. Her cards scattered around her.

"Cana!" Lucy's yell was heard. Cana took a side glance and saw Lucy watching her while her spirit fought her opponent.

"I'm okay! Just focus on your own fight!" Cana yelled back. Lucy stared at her worriedly for a moment before turning her gaze to her own opponent again.

Cana managed to stand up. "Damn! That hurt, you bastard!" she cursed. Granton only stared at her—or at least she thought he did, though she couldn't really tell since his eyes were covered.

"I didn't know Fairy Tail taught its mages to attack from behind. That's a cowardly way to fight," he said sharply.

"Looks like it's okay to attack you from anywhere even from behind your back," Cana snorted sarcastically. "You have eyes in the back of your head, it seems."

"I don't see using my eyes," Granton stated. "I do it using my feet."

"Huh?"

Granton didn't give Cana the chance to act dumbfounded as he immediately launched another attack, punching the ground with his knuckles where it started to crack, a giant crack that headed straight towards where Cana was standing. She yelped as her balance wavered and Cana abruptly jumped aside for more solid ground. However, it was what Granton had been waiting for. As Cana tried to balance herself, Granton landed a hard punch on the brown-haired woman.

Cana squirmed, holding in the scream of pain as she was once again thrown a few meters away. She kept laying there, gathering her strength and her breath for a moment while Granton silently watched as Cana slowly started to stand up.

"You really put everything behind that fist of yours," Cana snickered sarcastically. "Not even bothering to be gentle towards a lady." She spat out a glob of blood from her mouth and flipped her hair over her shoulder.

"As long as they're the enemy, I don't care whether they're women or even children. I won't go easy," Granton stated coldly. "You too, woman. You're not this weak. I know it. Just give it all you've got in this fight."

Cana chuckled in return. "Is that so? Well, you're not as dumb as you seem. Okay, let's play seriously from now on," she replied, bringing out another card.

***Fairy**Tail***

Natsu stepped into a big hall. It was dark and empty, but he knew that someone was there. He carefully yet confidently took steps forward.

"I know you're here," Natsu shouted to the empty air. "Come out here so I can kick your annoying ass!"

Without any warning, something long and dark emerged from the left side of the room, straight towards Natsu. However, the Fire Dragon Slayer had been ready for this kind of surprise attack and quickly dodged. The blue feline that clung to his head yelped at the suddenness. The dark spike-like things hit the far wall instead, crumbling the bricks, then shrunk back to its origins: the darkness.

"Natsu, aren't those… shadows?" Happy asked unsurely, but his guess wasn't wrong at all.

Natsu narrowed his eyes toward the shadow in a corner of the room. "It's you again," Natsu stated sharply as he watched something walk out of the shadow. It was Roda, calmly standing there. He stared at Natsu with a smirk plastered on his long face.

"Nice to meet you too, Salamander," Roda greeted.

"Where's the boy?" Natsu asked, straight to the point, making Roda frown.

"Come on, I thought we'd have fun in here, but you're still asking for that boy's whereabouts? As if I'd tell you," he snorted.

"I don't have time to play around with you. Now just tell me where he is!" Natsu demanded loudly.

Roda sighed. "So impatient, aren't you? Okay, okay, I'll tell you. He's upstairs." Roda pointed at a large staircase behind him. "It's the only way to go up there and I won't let you pass unless you manage to defeat me."

Natsu looked at Roda, then at the stairs behind him, and back to Roda, thinking hard. "Fine," he finally said, but then turned to whisper to Happy, "Try to fly up there and find Gray while I'm distracting him with this fight," he instructed.

"Aye," Happy answered slowly and nodded.

"Bring it on then, stick!" Natsu yelled and fixed his stance. At the same time, Happy flew away from Natsu's head to avoid the upcoming fight. Roda smirked satisfyingly and charged forward. Natsu waited, timing the moment he would dodge and attack back, and when Roda was within a certain distance, Natsu prepared to move. But to his surprise, he suddenly couldn't move his body.

"What?!" Natsu looked down and saw that his feet were wrapped by shadows under Roda's control. "Since when…" he gasped but had no time to think any further as he felt a powerful fist impact his cheek, sending him flying.

"How was that, Salamander?" Roda snickered as he watched Natsu slowly stand up.

"Your punch is more powerful than I thought for a stick like you," Natsu muttered and spat a little blood from his mouth. "But it's still not enough."

"Is that so? Good then. I haven't started anything anyway."

This time, Natsu was the one to charge in first. Flames lit up in his hand as he used his Fire Dragon's Fist, but Roda jumped back easily, landing lightly. Gritting his teeth in frustration, Natsu kept attacking with kicks and punches from the short distance. His true intention though, was to divert his opponent's attention, and it seemed like Roda hadn't realized the fact.

Unbeknownst to both Dragon Slayers, a blue feline floated meters away from them, watching and avoiding the fight. Happy looked on as Natsu continued to unstoppably attack Roda, using a fast and large attack that Roda was forced to focus all his attention on in order to dodge. Moments later, Happy received the signal from Natsu to sneak upstairs. The flying cat silently nodded and immediately zoomed towards the stairs.

But then there was a loud thud coming from Happy, following by a loud exclamation from the cat.

"Ouch!" Happy cried suddenly and fell from the air.

"Happy!" Natsu called worriedly. His attention turned to his friend, and the flames covering his body vanished from distraction. Roda used the opening to send Natsu flying again, this time with a kick.

"You should focus on your opponent in a fight, Salamander," Roda mocked.

"What are you doing to Happy?!" Natsu roared, rushing to the feline's side to find Happy unconscious with a large bump on his forehead, spirals of dizziness swirling in his eyes.

"I told you I won't let you pass, didn't I? Did you think I'd leave the stairs without any protection?" Roda shrugged.

"Protection?" Natsu frowned. He then stuck his hand toward the stairs and found it being blocked. It was as if he was touching an invisible wall. Something solid made his hand stop, and if Natsu looked more closely, he saw that whatever it was had a slightly blacker shade. He realized that the invisible wall was covering one whole side of the room.

"That's my shadow. I've stretched it wide enough to cover that side, and don't even think to break it with physical attacks. It's useless," Roda said. "As long as I'm conscious and able to control my magic, that wall won't crumble."

The Fire Dragon Slayer sighed exasperatedly and laid the feline in a safe place before standing up and facing the second generation Shadow Dragon Slayer.

"So I do really have to beat you into a pulp first."

***Fairy**Tail***

Little Gray looked up when he heard footsteps in his direction, along with some chattering, but it sounded more like a bickering.

"What's with the commotion downstairs?!" asked a voice Little Gray didn't recognize.

"Well, you see, Lagor-sama… Some Fairy Tail mages came attacking, so the others stopped them. They are probably fighting down there," answered another voice. Little Gray knew this voice; it was Chagrain, the one who had been watching him before.

"Huh? Why do they have to fight? Isn't this building being protected by your magic so it that won't be visible from the outside?" Lagor said, and at the same time, the footsteps stopped.

"Err… yeah, that's true. However, they said they wanted to have some fun and decided to fight them instead," Chagrain said nervously.

Little Gray heard Lagor breathe out in annoyance. "Those brats," he grumbled.

"But, they had made sure that only Salamander is able to enter this building while the others fighting outside, still cannot see this building," Chagrain added.

"Why Salamander?"

"Roda want to have a match with him,"

Another sigh was heard. It was Lagor's. "They make everything harder," he groaned.

"They want the boy, right?" Lagor muttered again, more to himself. "I won't let them. I'll take the boy to Vangle by myself. Now," he said and the footsteps continued.

After hearing the conversation, a realization hit Little Gray. '_People from Fairy Tail… they came to save me._'

His heart was touched and he felt like crying right away, but he knew he couldn't. Not now. If the people out there were trying their best to save him, then he had to do the same. He had to at least make some effort to save himself and go back to Fairy Tail, the place he knew he belonged to. Little Gray looked at the rope tying his hands and legs. He knew the strange orange ropes prevented him from using magic, since he had tried to produce some ice before, with nothing happening. The rope had to be cut off.

He looked around and glimpsed some broken glass near the door. Little Gray rushed there and found that it was a broken photo frame of some people he didn't know. Without thinking any further, he picked a piece of the broken glass and carefully tried to slice the rope with it.

While doing so, Little Gray heard the footsteps coming closer and immediately panicked, the action making him accidentally cut his palm.

"Ouch!" he cried softly as the cut started to bleed. But he couldn't stop now. It was his only chance to escape. Despite blood dripping from his hands, he still continued to slice the rope quickly, trying not to imagine what would happen if the glass slipped from his now-wet hands.

"Wait, Lagor-sama," Chagrain called outside and in an instant, the footsteps stopped again right in front of the door. Little Gray inwardly breathed out in relief. At least he now had more time.

"I'm just wondering…" Chagrain spoke. "…to be honest, I think bringing the boy to our city is too risky. I mean, Fairy Tail or even the government itself would have a good reason to attack us and we'll have a big problem. In addition, I heard the last time those Fairy Tail mages came to Vangle was in order to capture the chief of the slave market we have. What if… by bringing the boy back, we will only make the Fairies' mission easier?"

"And since when did you care?" Lagor snorted. "If that's the problem, then all we have to do is wait for those idiots to win against the Fairies and everything will be settled. And about the government and all, as long as we hide the proof well enough, then there's nothing to worry about." He shook his head at his subordinate's worry before opening the door of the room where Little Gray was being kept. At first, Lagor saw nothing but darkness. But all of a sudden, he heard a yell of "Ice Make: Lance!" and some lances of ice were launched towards him, making him stumble backwards.

"Lagor-sama!" Chagrain shouted in surprise and rushed to his boss's side. Lagor groaned.

"What was that?!"

Before they fully understood what had happened, a small figure ran past them from out of the room. They finally realized it was their hostage who was trying to escape. Little Gray was now sprinting along the dark corridor, trying to get as far as possible from his kidnappers.

"Damn that brat! Chase him!" Lagor frantically shouted and Chagrain immediately obeyed by taking off after the boy.

"Don't come near me! Ice Make: Floor!" Little Gray shouted when he noticed that his pursuers were just a few feet away. The floor froze as he slammed his palms onto the ground. However, he didn't expect the freezing process to be as slow as it was, and that it would only reach a short distance so that Chagrain was able to easily avoid the slippery floor.

'_Oh no! I knew I should've practiced this more often,'_ Little Gray cursed mentally. He blinked once and found that Chagrain was suddenly right in front of him. The man's speed was incredible.

"Oh no," Little Gray hissed, more scared than he could ever remember being before.

"Let's stop this mouse-and-cat game, kid," Chagrain said intimidatingly, and lifted the boy's chin roughly so that he was forced to look him straight in the eyes. "It'll be easier if you're under my control, right?"

Instinctively, Little Gray knew that looking at Chagrain's eyes couldn't possibly do anything good to him. However, he couldn't move his face with it being roughly gripped by the older man and it was too late for him to close his eyes. A magic circle appeared as Chagrain casted his magic. At first, his victim didn't feel anything, but a second later Little Gray's senses and consciousness were gone as the hypnotizing magic took hold of his mind.

And the little boy's body went limp, his eyes becoming unfocused from being under Chagrain's control.

***Fairy**Tail***

Looking down, Gray spied a small body lying on the grass ground a few feet from him. He wasn't surprised at all, having seen what was going on.

He approached the figure and stared amusedly at its sleeping state, knowing that hypnotizing illusion magic was the cause of making the 'mind' sleep. Though somehow, this occasion amazed him a bit, since one rarely saw a mind sleeping.

Gray chuckled at his own stupid wonder, then carefully lifted up the small 'body' and carried him under the shade of the big tree nearby. The little boy stirred slightly in Gray's hold, making the deceased ice mage glance at him sadly.

"Guess it's finally time. I can't hide your past any longer, Arian," murmured Gray as he placed the boy who resembled him on the ground, leaning him against the tree. "You'll probably hate me for doing that. But I hope you'll understand that I hid it for your own sake," he added while softly ruffling the raven locks of the boy.

"While you're exploring your memories, let me out to kick their asses," Gray said and stood up, looking back at the sleeping figure before light engulfed him.

***Fairy**Tail***

"What have you done to him?" Lagor asked curiously as he saw Little Gray walk towards him obediently with Chagrain following behind.

"I can't make him sleep or anything like Choir does, to be honest. So I just simply hypnotized him to follow our orders."

Lagor nodded understandingly. "I see… why didn't you just do it sooner?"

"That's not a best idea," the latter shrugged.

"Whatever," Lagor sighed. He looked down to see the boy's face, but Little Gray's expression was hidden as his head was lowered. "Now, let's get out of he-!" Before he could finish his sentence, Lagor was taken aback when he felt something slam into his stomach and send him flying backwards for the second time that day.

Both adults gasped in surprise, especially after seeing that the things that had hit Lagor were long, hard sticks of ice. And the caster was none other than the boy in front of him who was supposed to be under Chagrain's control.

"I suppose I should be grateful that you cast your magic on this kid," Little Gray said flatly. But as far as the kidnappers knew, he sounded so different despite the voice still being the same. Now, the little boy sounded more… mature? Little Gray looked up towards the illusionist, who was stunned as he saw the boy's eyes. They weren't unfocused like they were supposed to be, and lacked the innocence that children usually had. Now, the boy's gaze was sharp, deep, and intimidating, the type of look that did not fit a child at all.

"But, this is the magic that I died from, so excuse me if I'm not very happy about it being used."

***Fairy**Tail***

Again, Thanks for reading ^^ and I don't know when the next one will come out since I haven't finished writing it. But it'll be come out someday... be patient, okay? ^^ Gonna back to my semi-hiatus session~~ see you soon ^^


	18. Chapter 18 Stellar Mage, Card Mage

I'm sooooooooooooooo sorry for delaying this chapter for about… what? Six months? Oh my God. I'm sorry! *wailed* My reason? Well, first, the finals and preparation for college. That one is over finally. I'm a college student now~~ yeay!

Ok, now, another reason, I was stuck really, really bad at writing chapter 19. Writer's block and all. So, instead of posting this chapter a few weeks earlier, it turned out that I should finish chapter 19 first before posting this new chapter. I'm sorry!

A big thanks for _**Kairaita**_, the beta-reader of this story. She helped me a lot with this chapter. Writing fighting scene is annoyingly hard. And believe me, before it being betaed, it was so horrible.

Also… Many many thanks for everyone who alert and favorite this story, especially the one who review. As cheesy as it is but I was getting fired up finding those alert in my mail. Thank you so much for the support~~ *jumping up and down*

Alright, now for the review…

**BigTimeRush **: I finally update. Cheers… Sorry for being late tho. But thank you for the review. Oh, Natsu? He would… he would… be patient… :)

**luis014 **: Hehe… cliffhanger, no? Here's the new one. Sorry for the lateness. Hope you can enjoy it and thank you for reviewing. About how Little Gray would be called after this? Hm… please wait the later chapter~~ *butprobablynot*wink*

**Laila Yagami **: Please welcome… Gray! *applause* hehe.. thank you… thank you… Yeah, you say it just now. I love you too for reading and reviewing this story. Thank you and enjoy~~

**dreamscometrue **: You'll see how he kick their asses later ;)

**IcedSoulFairy **: Wow... thank you for the great review~~ I'm still feeliing bad though making you wait for months. Sorry... ^^' I'm happy to hear you're enjoying this story. Thank you very much. I'll try my best :)

**Rewinsan **: Hehe... dapat sesuatu rupanya? *nudge nudge* Cliffhanger! Sometimes it's fun writing them but obviously annoying reading one. I know... I know.. lol. Why did hide his memories? Good question. I also wonder why... *playful smirk* Thanks for the review anyway~~

**Junday ** : Ah... you'll never know how future mess around with you.. kekeke...

**Miroh **: I'm really grateful for having such a great beta-reader for this story and I'll always try to improve my English. I'll also be sad if my favorite character get killed in other fics. However, not in this one. Kekeke… I'm cruel~~ Thank you very much for sticking with this story…

**Erie **: Though it's late but… here's the update, please enjoy :)

**Violentyetawesome **: I'm updating it.. I'm updating it.. :)

**mademoiselleRED **: Hehehe… Death is the real angsty, so I like to kill the characters~~ *bring a knife to murder* lol. Kidding, kidding. Thanks for your review. I'll try my best :)

**angel **: Thank you… I update it :)

**AsDarknessSpreads **: Wow.. thanks for the reviews. I'm so happy. Hehehe… I can be cruel sometimes.. but, for the sake of the story. Yea, that's it :) And your guess about the plot has the right point. Don't worry…

**Skdc8595 **: Aww… thank you for both review and the understanding. Hope you like this chapter :)

**Angel's Last Songs **: Thank you for the review. Sorry you had to wait for 6 months. Really sorry :(

**X3m King12 **: Thank you. I'm glad you like it. Here's the update..

**Pokecomic **: Hahaha… it _almost_ became a canon. But when reading that chapter, I got a strong feeling that Mashima-sensei was trolling us again :| Anyway, if it really happen (Gray died in the manga) then I planned to edit a few first chapters. Lol.

Ah, and a small note here. I'm sorry if it would probably be not as good as you're expecting. However, please enjoy..

***Fairy**Tail***

**Disclaimer,**

I do not own Fairy Tail and its characters

Chapter 18. **Stellar Mage, Card Mage**

*Previously on Once Again, Live*

"There're five, huh? Okay…" Roda sighed, looking as if he was slightly disappointed over something. "So, who will kindly 'welcome' them?"|| "Let us deal with these two while you go in and rescue Gray," Cana said, picking a card.|| Cornering himself in the dark room, Little Gray desperately hugged and buried his face in his knees, hoping it would decrease the pain.|| "That's okay, Wendy. At least we know where they're heading." Wendy's companion nodded, appreciating her effort before following the female Dragon Slayer.|| "Momma needs money so badly right now. You stay at Vangle city, how does that sound?"|| "I _am_ Arian Clain."|| "The gate of Scorpio, I open thee!" Lucy swung her golden key…|| Cana squirmed, holding in the scream of pain as she was once again thrown a few meters away.|| The Fire Dragon Slayer sighed exasperatedly and laid the feline in a safe place before standing up and facing the second generation Shadow Dragon Slayer. "So I do really have to beat you into a pulp first."|| "I suppose I should be grateful that you cast your magic on this kid," Little Gray said flatly. "But, this is the magic that I died from, so excuse me if I'm not very happy about it being used."

***Fairy**Tail**

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but don't think you can get away alive after what you've done to Master Lagor." Pushing off the floor, Chagrain charged towards Little Gray, coming closer and closer. But the boy moved aside without even flinching, just in time to dodge Chagrain's incoming first directly at him, and stepped neatly behind the man who was stumbling as the force of his missed punch threw him forward.

"And who're you to judge?" Little Gray sneered mockingly. "Ice Make: Lance!" he shouted, and spears of ice shot forward, directly targeting the illusionist. They slammed into Chagrain, who cried out in pain and completely lost his balance.

Little Gray scoffed in contempt. "That's nothing to be crying about. Just be glad that since it's this little kid's body, it's not as strong as it could be," he said, waving his hand exasperatedly, then winced as he felt a stinging pain at his fingertips. Noticing that the cut from before hadn't been taken care of properly, he gingerly pressed his other hand to the cut and a thin layer of ice formed over the wound, stopping the flow of blood.

Chagrain stood up slowly, clearly offended by the last comment. The hit, no matter what, had been absolutely painful. "You're quite arrogant for a little one," the illusionist hissed. "But that was much too fast for a child with your level of ability."

"Who're you calling a child?" The boy frowned, narrowing his gaze. Chagrain raised an eyebrow confusedly.

"My name is Gray Fullbuster and I am—… I _was_ a mage of Fairy Tail, five long years ago."

***Fairy**Tail***

Natsu opened his jaws to breathe out a Fire Dragon's Roar at his opponent, who did the same and mimicked his motions. Red and black magical energy collided in midair, skyrocketing the tension between the two Dragon Slayers. In no time, the attacks canceled each other out and Roda smirked before charging forward at a high speed, taking Natsu by surprise when he saw his opponent right in front of him with a raised fist at his face.

"Not wise to let your guard down, even in-between the shortest moments," Roda said smugly as he sent Natsu flying backwards.

'_Damn, he's good,"_Natsu cursed inwardly and wiped the blood from his freshly-cut lips_. _

"Tell me," Natsu hissed. "What are you gonna do to the boy?"

"Give me one good reason to answer."

In return, Natsu glared at his opponent, drawing his fists back. He really wasn't in the mood to play around right now, yet this Roda guy insisted on taking up valuable time.

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you. Just don't glare at me like that," Roda huffed, leaping back as Natsu swung a fist at his face. He ducked under the blow without losing his breath, talking all the while as he aimed to kick Natsu's legs out from under him. "So, it just so happens that the boy has this unbelievably huge power in him. It's true that we only found out after 'that' incident though. Moreover, Lagor-sama's plans for him include selling him to a research center that specializes in doing these crazy experiments on our Special Case mages… Like that boy."

"Wait, what 'incident'?" Natsu paused in his assault and Roda immediately made use of the moment.

"I've said countless times to not let your guard down, haven't I?" Roda raised his arm in a gesture and the shadows around Natsu sprang to life, throwing him backwards until the Fire Dragon Slayer hit the wall behind him painfully hard. Natsu groaned in pain as Roda watched, leaving the question unanswered.

"Personally though, I can't agree with Lagor-sama on his current plan. It's too… plain. Having the boy under our control would be more interesting and useful," Roda muttered, making a disgruntled face that didn't go unnoticed by Natsu.

"So why don't you just talk about it with him and have everything settled?" Natsu asked sarcastically.

"I can't" Roda replied, ignoring the sarcasm. "I just can't disobey Lagor-sama. I… I owe him a big debt."

***Fairy**Tail***

"Gate of the Golden Bull, I open thee! Taurus!" Lucy summoned her spirit again.

"MOOOOO! I'll protect Lucy's sexy bodyyyyy!" Taurus roared.

"Don't say unnecessary things," Lucy sighed. "Now, would you like to fight that girl for me?" she pointed at Choir, who didn't flinch even knowing that she would face an opponent five times larger than her.

"Mooo… she's a cute girl. But for my sexy master, I'll beat her in no time!" Taurus cooed.

"But remember, Taurus. Her magic is in her voice. You'll have to be careful because it can't be depleted or avoided. She's weak in short-distance fights though, so I think it'll suit you just fine," Lucy added in a whisper.

"Mooo! I don't care whether you're a little girl or not. I'll beat you up for my Lucy's sake!" Taurus moved forward at a thunderous speed. In a blink, his giant axe slammed the ground where Choir stood a short while ago. And of course, aforementioned spot were already empty.

"Moo?" Taurus looked at the ground confusedly. He was sure that he had targeted his axe accurately, but where was the little girl?

"Taurus! Above!" Lucy yelled, and Taurus quickly looked up just to see his opponent land a hard kick on his face.

"Mooo!" he roared in pain and covered his right eye with one of his palms. It was ordinarily impossible for Choir's kick to hurt the hard head of a zodiac spirit like Taurus, but it was a different story when the heel of her shoe hit him square on the eyes.

"Taurus, are you okay?!" Lucy shouted worriedly. The addressed rubbed his watery eyes before give his master a thumbs up.

"You, little girl, sure know how to play circus," Taurus grunted, annoyed, and swung his axe again towards Choir. It missed as she leaped back, but managed to slightly tear open the front of her dress.

"Hey, this is my favorite dress!" Choir pouted seeing the small tear on her purple dress. "I won't forgive you…" she whispered creepily, landing solidly yet elegantly on the ground. Taurus and Lucy both flinched at the girl's sudden change in demeanor, exuding an ominous aura.

'_What's with this girl?_'

Choir lifted her microphone and shrieked. Both Taurus and Lucy were surprised by the action. Choir was singing, but in a creepy way. Just like a banshee, and the sharp notes hit their eardrums hard and painfully.

"MOOOOOO!" Taurus roared painfully while covering his ears; his grand giant axe was long forgotten.

"TAURUS!" Lucy cried, scared seeing her spirit turn wild. In a panic Lucy then yelled out, forcefully closing the gate, "TAURUS! BACK TO THE SPIRIT REALM NOW!"

As the spirit disappeared into the light, Choir's singing stopped. Lucy sighed and relaxed. But it didn't last long because the next thing she knew was a stinging pain in her ears and she fell down onto the soil ground.

'_What is this?! I can't stand!'_Lucy cried out in her head. Her whole body shook, especially her legs, which could not move all of a sudden. And to her surprise, she felt some liquid trickling down her earlobes. It was blood.

"Seems like I broke your eardrums," said a strangely cheerful Choir. She nonchalantly walked towards the trembling blonde who was wiping her bloody ears in a panic. "Did you know? Ears play an important role in a person's balance. If it's disturbed… Well, I suppose you can see for yourself now."

'_Damnit. Nothing I do has any effect!_' Lucy cried inwardly, shaking angrily. '_A voice can't be avoided no matter what I do! And hers can't be block—_' she blinked. Something clicked inside her head.

"Wait," Lucy slowly murmured as a realization hit her. "What if…" she quickly searched in her keys and found a certain key, smiling at it.

"I'm such an idiot for not relying on you since the beginning. I'm sorry," Lucy whispered softly, swinging the golden key. "Gate of the Ram, I open thee! Aries!"

***Fairy**Tail***

Cana threw her cards, summoning a great thunder that shot straight towards her opponent. She expected the electricity shot to hit her opponent directly and deal a great amount of damage, but it seemed that today wasn't her lucky day.

Where her opponent supposed to be, there was a large wall of stone instead. Cana cursed. Her opponent was quite fast for a body that big. And from the way he used his magic, she could tell that he was a monster.

Cana yelped but managed to jump in time when a piece of rock went flying toward her. However, she missed another piece that hit her hard and sent her flying meters away.

"How disappointing, for a mage of Fairy Tail," Granton grunted, yet unceasing with his attacks towards the young woman. The latter managed to land hands first so that her whole body didn't slam into the ground, and wasted no time retaliating. Cana expertly fished out several cards at once from the deck she had always memorized and activated them all, creating a combination of wind, fire, and water that aimed at the blind Granton. He flinched, feeling the attack graze his shoulders before he had been able to make any effort in protecting himself.

"You bitch!" he once again groaned. Now he was in pain. From afar Cana grinned in triumph before charging forward at full speed. When she felt close enough, Cana took out a card and sent it flying onto the ground.

"Slippery Iced Floor!"

And the soil turned into ice that made Granton suddenly lose his balance.

"I copied Gray's magic a little. Now, let's see how well that big body of yours handles the ground like this," Cana smirked, easily skating on the ice while her opponent was putting all his effort just to stand up straight. And of course, Cana would not allow him that opportunity as she jumped and gave Granton a hard kick in the head. He slipped and fell down completely, face first on the icy ground.

"Ha! Take that!" Cana cheered, landing gracefully on the melting ice.

"No, you should take this," Granton said with his face still pressed to the ground. He slammed his palms against the dirt and a large pillar of stone erupted up beneath Cana. Without any time to react, it crashed into her abdomen, sending her reeling.

"I've told you to stop playing around and be serious," Granton said monotonously.

"What? I am serious," she protested.

"No, you're not." Granton fixed his stance. "I know you keep a great power in you. Let it out, or I'll kill you for real."

It took Cana a moment to understand what her opponent meant before a smirk appeared on her face. "Ah, so you've found out?" she asked amusedly.

"Fairy Glitter."

***Fairy**Tail***

"What are you babbling about? A mage of Fairy Tail five years ago? I doubt you were even born yet," Chagrain snapped, and Gray simply smirked.

"Chagrain! What are you waiting for?! I don't care who he was or what he's talking about. We need him!" Lagor shouted from the other side of the room. He had managed to stand up and also wanted to participate in game to catch the boy.

"Oh, shut the hell up, old man," Gray rolled his eyes, making a movement. With a flash, a large hammer of ice hit Lagor square on the head, causing him to lose consciousness completely. "Letting him sleep for a while won't hurt, I suppose." He turned his attention back to Chagrain, who gulped seeing Gray's action.

"Who are you?" Chagrain asked carefully yet rudely. "You're not the boy."

"I've told you," Gray indignantly sighed. "I am Gray Fullbuster. And I was a mage of Fairy Tail."

Chagrain could only stare. He, more or less, could grasp what was going on. However, he still could not believe it.

"…and you're possessing the boy?" he asked again. The little kid hummed in response.

"Something like that. But not exactly. More like… I'm trapped here."

"Since when?"

"Since the very beginning,"

Gray smirked upon seeing Chagrain's speechlessness.

"If so, then what happened half a year ago in Vangle is reasonable. That was not the boy's work. It was yours."

"You mean when I made my escape from that pathetic jail of yours? Yes, right," Taking a step forward, Gray inwardly chuckled when his opponent instead stepped backward cautiously.

Chagrain fixed his stance. When it came to actual combat, his skills were less than impressive. But now, he had to at least try.

***Fairy**Tail***

"Um, err… I'll do my best." Aries appeared with a poof of smoke and stuttering her usual words.

"Aries, glad you're here. Now, gate of the Lion, Leo!" Lucy swung another key and after the glimmering light, Loke appeared.

"I'm at your service, my princess," Loke smirked, glad that he was finally called for the fight.

"Loke, I want you to attack that girl while Aries backs you up. Her magic is her voice and I think Aries can do something about it," Lucy commanded. Her spirits nodded in understanding.

"I- I'll do my best," Aries said.

Loke moved first, followed by Aries. The lion spirit ran after Choir as his hands glowed with a golden light. "I'm sorry, miss. I'm not in the habit of attacking pretty girls like you, but my master's wish is my command," he winked flirtatiously. Choir snorted in disgust and lifted her microphone.

"Loke, be careful! She's going to use her magic!" Lucy yelled in warning. Loke hummed in acknowledgement and glanced at Aries behind him who nodded, understanding Loke's signal.

"Wool Wall!" A big pink wall made of wool appeared around Loke, creating a boundary between him and the little girl. Choir couldn't see anything behind the wall for it was too big, but she just let out a snort, mocking her opponents' strategy.

"You're really stupid, huh?" she said. "No matter how big the barrier you put up is, you won't be able to block my voice. It can be heard through even the smallest openings." Choir began to sing her lullaby again. When the wall started crumbling down, she expected to see the spirits fast asleep and smirked in victory, watching the wall disappear.

But the smirk soon faded down when she saw Loke still standing straight and completely awake.

"W- What?!"

"Seems like you're not paying enough attention to Aries's wall," Loke smirked. "It's made of wool. And you know, this kind of material has the ability to block voices."

Choir stared at him in disbelief for a brief second, seemingly lost for words. "Tsk. Don't be so proud after managing to sabotage one of my attacks. I have plenty more." And with that she screamed.

Loke and Aries flinched while Lucy, who had anticipated the move, covered her ears. However, not one of them seemed affected by the magic; no one even collapsed. Suspicion and worry ran down Choir's spine.

"What have you done?" she hissed, coughing slightly.

"You do have a rather interesting voice. I can already imagine what would happen if that kind of sound _actually_ hit my eardrums," Loke praised.

"I called Aries especially because her magic is producing wool. You should know this, right? Wool, more or less like cotton, can protect our ears from overly loud voices like yours. In other words, your magic won't be affecting us," Lucy explained with a sly grin and tucked a strand of hair behind her ears, showing the pink wool that had been stuffed in. Loke and Aries did the same. "It was just a guess at first, but your magic is useless if your opponent can't hear you, right? Ah, I'm such a genius."

Choir narrowed her eyes. This would be a disadvantage for her, now that her main magic would not do anything in this situation. Letting out another cough, she praised sarcastically, "Right, genius. But do you think that such a small amount of cotton will help? I just need to increase the volume of my voice, and the effect will be doubled, or even tripled. In other words, that flimsy protection won't last long."

Lucy looked at Choir strangely, making the latter a bit uncomfortable, before speaking, "No, you won't." She took the cotton from her ears. "You won't use that magic again, or at least try to increase the volume and whatever."

"You're so sure about that?" Choir mocked, though Lucy was sure she saw the younger girl flinch.

"I am," the blonde mage replied calmly. "It was just a brief observation, but I'm sure of it." Choir raised an eyebrow as Lucy continued. "Your magic affects your vocal cords. The overly high notes are too much for them to bear, and if you use it too often, there's no way they won't be strained. I can tell from the way you reacted after you used your magic."

"Reacted?" Choir frowned.

"You coughed," Lucy simply said. "And I read somewhere that that kind of cough is the kind that happens when there's something wrong with your throat."

"I see," Choir finally said after a long pause. "It was that noticeable, huh? That you could find the weakness of my magic so easily. But so what? What if I were to say that I don't care what happens to my voice?"

"You wouldn't let that happen." Lucy narrowed her eyes. "That's a stupid thing to do. And you're not the type of person who would do such a stupid thing. What would you do without your magic?"

The atmosphere turned tense, even more so than before. Both females only stared at each other sharply, leaving the two celestial spirits who exchanged glances in nervousness.

"Good. Genius." Choir broke the silence and threw her microphone to the ground as if it meant nothing. "You're right. Continuing to use this magic would only hurt me, which is a stupid thing to do. And I'm not that stupid." Lucy looked cautiously between the younger girl and her spirits who were waiting for her command.

"But that doesn't mean I'll let myself lose!" Choir shouted, and a magic circle flashed in front of her. Lucy and Loke blinked in shock, having not expected the little girl to have move techniques in store, but didn't let their defense waver.

"What kind of attack now?" Lucy asked quietly. And her question was immediately answered when she, Loke and Aries suddenly flew backward, as if something large had hit them.

"Wha-?" Loke gasped, trying to get up. "I didn't even see anything!"

"Did no one ever teach you to keep your voice down?" Choir said amusedly. Once more, the magic circle appeared and Loke and Lucy were hit again, though with less power than before. "Do you know what a voice really is?"

"What a voice really is?" Lucy repeated in a whisper before sinking into her thoughts.

"Waves." Loke narrowed his eyes.

"You're smart, mister Lion," Choir smirked. "Yeah, waves. Sound waves. My magic can also convert sound into waves that hurt just as much as physical attacks."

"I see. And it's also invisible. So troublesome," Lucy mumbled, standing up finally. "But that doesn't mean we'll let ourselves lose either!"

***Fairy**Tail***

Cana dodged her opponent's attack quite well. But it became too much that she already lost her stamina, stumbling backwards after eluding another one of Granton's massive attacks.

"I heard that Fairy Tail's first master granted one of her mages one of the three strongest magics in your guild. I know that mage is you."

"Are you sure you want me to use that against you? It destroyed the council's MPF once," Cana teased.

"I can manage it," Granton replied bluntly. Cana rolled her eyes, annoyed.

'_Fairy Glitter costs a lot of my magical energy. I should use it at the right time_,' Cana thought. She glanced around and her eyes met Lucy, who was facing her own opponent meters away. '_Besides, I can't risk hitting Lucy. The gap between us is way too close_.' Without thinking any further, Cana dashed toward the nearby woods. "You want your Fairy Glitter? Then come after me!" she shouted as she took off at a high speed.

Granton grunted but followed right away. He moved the ground beneath him so it became like an elevator. Cana was a bit taken aback seeing how fast the walking-boulder went. It only motivated her to run faster.

Putting too much concentration on his boulders, Granton lost track of Cana even with his sensitivity to movements that made up for his blindness. He focused harder, attempting to feel for any tremor through his feet and any sound through his ears, dismissing his boulders. Strangely, there were absolutely no suspicious movements, but his ears did catch a soft sound. Wind?

And then he felt a strong magical power concentrated at one point.

"FAIRY GLITTER!"

'_Oh, shit_.'

***Fairy**Tail***

She had to think hard. Invisible attacks weren't easy to deal with, and Lucy scowled even as she and her spirits were hit by the stupid waves over and over again. They didn't cause much damage, but they couldn't fight against it.

"You're just fooling around with us, aren't you?" Lucy asked, glaring. Choir looked at her in confusion before smiling slyly.

"Uh huh. It's just a little fun," she said loudly, and a second later, Lucy was thrown backwards harshly.

"KYAA!" Lucy gasped in surprise at the sudden power. Choir smirked even wider.

"You know it's rude to be loud, right?" A magic circle appeared, and Lucy was thrown back even harder.

"Princess!" Loke yelped.

"You too, Mister," Choir said bluntly and converted Loke's voice into the invisible wave.

'_Damn. What can I do to defeat this little girl?_' Lucy cursed inwardly, watching Loke being thrown backwards like her. Silently, Aries surprisingly dashed toward Choir and used her Wool Bomb to attack. Choir dodged it unfortunately, and instead made use of the explosion's sound to be converted into a powerful wave. Aries yelped when her body hit the ground a few meters away.

"That was not a wise thing to do, Miss-… err, Sheep," Choir smiled smugly.

'_Her magic actually isn't that special_,' Lucy thought. '_But she uses her brain so that she can turn that ordinary magic into something invincible_. _Not to mention, her agility_.' She sighed and sat up. '_Maybe I underestimated her a bit. I should use my brain, too._'

Loke tried again, running towards the girl with determination in his eyes and his fist glowing with light, his shoes making loud thudding sounds against the hard ground. Choir simply smirked again, waving her hand to make a magic circle appear. Seconds later, Loke was again thrown backwards off his feet.

"Loke!" Aries hurriedly approached Loke and helped him stand.

"Shit. She attacked my feet this time," the lion spirit grumbled.

Lucy watched their interaction, observing. Something was amiss, she thought, and Lucy closed her eyes, frowning as she thought. She tried to remember every little thing that had happened during her fight with Choir, hoping to find even a tiny hint, noting how Choir had used her magic with random amounts of power; sometimes the magic hit hard, and sometimes it was just a small jolt. Had it been intentional or not?

Then it clicked in her mind.

Lucy stood up. She wanted to try something, walking towards Loke so slowly, trying to not make too much sound while observing Choir's posture. The latter seemed annoyed and nervous by Lucy's attitude. Lucy let a small smirk curve her lips as she crouched beside Loke and whispered, "It's okay Loke, Aries. You can go back to the spirit realm now."

Loke and Aries looked at her flabbergasted. "What?" he said.

"I rated her ability a bit too high. I'm not underestimating her, but I alone am enough."

"But, princess, she is very... clever!"

"Then I will use my brain too," Lucy smiled and swung Aries and Leo's keys. "Thanks guys. Now, forced gate closure!"

Loke was about to protest, but he had been disintegrated into light.

"You dismissed your spirits?" Choir asked, a bit surprised.

"Yes. I can fight just fine, and I'm enough by myself," Lucy said cheerily. "I realized that I depend on my spirits a bit too much and… I don't need these," she added, throwing her boots onto the ground. Choir narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"Fine. Whatever," Choir spat. "Go on, then."

She made her steps as light, as quiet as possible, despite the difficulty she would have if she tried to run. Fleuve d'étoiles was gripped in her hand. The atmosphere turned eerily silent, with no sound but the very soft one of Lucy's barefooted steps. Unease swept through Choir.

"WHAT ARE YOU SCHEMING?!" the voice mage suddenly yelled. Lucy abruptly stopped and lifted her arms to shield herself when another purple magic circle appeared in front of Choir. A great pressure made Lucy stumble a little, but she had been ready for the brunt of it. Smirking a little in triumph, Lucy darted forward and swung her magic whip, not giving Choir any chance to prepare any new attacks as she accurately lashed the whip around Choir's leg. The little girl gasped when Lucy pulled the whip, causing Choir to fall backwards on her butt.

"A little punishment for a naughty kid like you," Lucy said amusedly, grinning.

"YO—" Choir was about to snap but she gasped because Lucy tugged the whip rather harshly.

"Oh no you won't," she rolled her eyes. "If you dare to throw me using that magic of yours, then you'll be dragged along since my whip is rather special. It can't be cut so easily. I can also extend the length as far as I want."

Choir stared at her angrily. "I guess you found the weakness of my magic, then?"

"It was hard at first," Lucy admitted. "You were smart enough to make us think your magic was flawless. But I also realized that I was panicking too much to use my brain and analyze the whole situation carefully enough."

"Your magic isn't flawless. Rather, it has a few rather large ones. First, your lullaby or any songs you use are useless if people can't hear it. As you can see, I only had to stuff my ears with something and it didn't affect me," Lucy grinned. "Second, that high-pitched scream can't be used often. And I guess you've reached your limit for now. You won't use it again unless you want to tear your vocal cords, which is the most important thing for your voice magic, right?"

"You talk too much," Choir snorted mockingly. The latter just shook her head.

"I'm just saying what I know," Lucy sighed. "And your trick with converting sound into waves was troublesome at first, but I finally figured out how it works. Your waves can't form without sound, and the power of the wave depends on the loudness of the sound it was converted. That's why I decided to fight barefoot, because my boots made too loud of a sound when I was running. It also explains why you attacked us with varying amounts of power; sometimes it was strong, sometimes it was weak. And one last thing, the power of your waves decreases slowly. Like ripples in water, slowly becoming smaller and smaller, right?"

Choir gave no comment to Lucy's long speech a first. Finally, she let out a long breath and let herself lay on the ground in surrender.

"If I screamed right now and converted it into a wave, it would be enough to knock you unconscious," she said flatly, yet from the way she stared blankly at the black sky, Lucy doubted Choir's words.

"Probably. But I can't imagine you would do it."

The younger girl snorted. "Right. I've lost already. None of my magic tricks will work on you anymore, and it's impossible for me to win against you in a physical battle," she sighed sadly, stretching her arms out in defeat. "Not to mention my lack of magical power. Now go on. Give me your hardest punch. Knock me out and go into the building."

"Why are you with them, anyway?" Lucy asked, referring to the Vangle group.

"Why should I tell you? What business is it of yours?" Choir replied angrily.

"I just think that your current job doesn't fit you. It's too harsh and, dare I say, dirty for you."

Choir rolled her eyes. "_Dirty_, huh?"

"You're so young and no doubt have talent. In addition, with your sharp mind and magic combined, you could be a great mage and get a much better job."

"Do you think I even have a choice?!" Choir snapped angrily, sitting up at the process. "You know nothing about me! So just SHUT UP!"

For a moment, neither of them spoke, not even realizing that the building was slowly appearing behind them from the magic being broken. Their eyes met in a stare, Lucy's filled with pity and Choir's with anger.

"My life was perfect back then. My family, they had everything. I was like a princess in a golden castle," Choir paused. Lucy gazed up, finding the younger girl's story was similar to hers. "But those bastards got into our house and took everything, killing my family in process, taking away my perfect life. Damn it!"

Lucy just stood there, waiting for Choir to continue.

"I survived because of Lagor. He found me under the debris of my burned house. I don't even know how I got there, but I suspect my mother's magic was behind that. Stupid woman, didn't even use it to save herself." There was a drop, just a small one, falling quickly, but Lucy was sure it was a tear. It did nothing but make her pity the girl more. "Lagor saw the potential in my magic and invited me to join him in Vangle. After years under his care, how can I just forget and betray him?!"

Again, silence. Choir was too angry to talk and probably was drowned in her own memory while Lucy was a bit confused as to what she should say.

"I think you've paid him back enough," the blonde stated surprisingly firmly. Choir looked up, startled. "You're young and you have your own choice. Someone like Lagor can't force you to do anything no matter what kind of good deeds he's done for you. You've done a lot of things for him already, haven't you?"

"You're so sure of yourself," Choir hissed. "You have no idea how many things he's done for me and how little I've done for him in return. Are you making me out to be some ungrateful brat?!"

"Look at me!" Lucy commanded impatiently. Her face was suddenly right in front of Choir's, making the voice mage startled. Warm-chocolate eyes stared deeply into the purplish ones. "Do you even want this? Do you even want to do it?"

The words shot through her heart. Lucy was right. Did she even _want_ to? But…

Seeing the hesitation, Lucy sighed and straightened herself. "You must be confused. But, just think about it thoroughly."

"Yeah…" the younger whispered finally. Her eyes started to close. "I will."

"You looked tired," Lucy commented.

"I can't sleep in that gross building," Choir furrowed her eyebrows in disgust. "Let me sleep… for a while, please…" and she finally drifted into slumber.

Lucy smiled seeing the sleeping face of the younger girl, relieved. Finally her fight was over, for now. Until she heard a loud explosive sound in the woods nearby. Cana was still battling.

***Fairy**Tail***

"FAIRY GLITTER!"

Granton heard the yell and the famous Fairy Tail's spell was casted. The overly-bright light illuminated the surroundings, creating a big explosion, but Cana concentrated the energy at one point.

Cana was standing on a tree branch, having somehow managed to use her wind elemental card to send her there silently so that Granton couldn't detect where she was. She narrowed her eyes, trying to find her target, and her eyes landed on a silhouette. But it was something different.

"What the hell?!" she shrieked, canceling the spell. As the light vanished and the dust cleared, Cana could see what she was aiming at earlier. She expected to see Granton's giant body lying unconscious but it turned out to be a big dome of rock. It was protecting what was inside, Granton himself.

"Damn it!" she cursed, jumping down from the tree to get a closer look. But she had made a wrong move because at the same time her feet hit the ground, something emerged beneath her, hitting her square on the chin and sending her flying backwards before her back was slammed against a tree. Cana coughed out blood.

"Such a great power." She heard Granton's voice from the dome. Instantly, the dome shattered, creating a hole that showed the magic caster inside. "But not as great as I expect it to be. Is it all you have? So disappointing."

"So arrogant," Cana grunted. Her head was a bit dizzy, probably because of the impact with the tree behind. Not good.

"Just end this game already," Granton said, a hint of boredom clear in his voice. He moved quickly, so quickly that Cana didn't have time to react to the dark brown magic circle appearing beneath her feet after Granton slammed his palms onto the ground.

"GAH!" she shouted when her body was suddenly squeezed by two slices of giant, hard rock from both sides. "What are you doing?!" Cana yelled frantically, especially when the rocks sandwiching her squeezed tighter every second.

"This battle isn't funny anymore," Granton shrugged. "So I just plan to squeeze you dead. Don't worry, it won't hurt too much. I can hurry it up, if you'd like."

"Have you lost your mind?!" Cana yelled angrily but flinched when the rocks pressed against her tighter. '_Damn it. This won't work. I need to get out of here fast!_' she said inwardly, trying to be calm and inspect her surroundings. She was trapped between two tough rocks without the capability to move her body. She had to find a way to destroy them without hurting herself and setting her free. But, what?

Cana looked around, and suddenly turned her attention to a tree. Seeing its roots gave her an idea, and she immediately struggled to dig for her cards inside of her pocket. Fortunately, she managed to slip out a handful of them and flipped through the cards nervously, hoping to find the right one before it was too late.

"Gotcha!" Cana shouted in triumph, knowing she had gotten the card she desired. However, she had to act fast because it was already getting hard to breathe. "This card better do its job. My life is depending on it here!" And with that, she activated the card.

"Your efforts are fruitless," Granton said calmly. Though he couldn't see it with his eyes, he could tell or at least figure out what his opponent had done through the tremor he felt. But he didn't care now. "That rock can't be destroyed, no matter how strong the impact is," he added. Cana only smirked.

Granton raised an eyebrow, confused. But suddenly, he was surprised upon feeling cracks being slowly created in the rock sandwiching Cana. The cracks were small but spreading fast, and he couldn't pinpoint what the cause was until he felt it.

"A plant?!" Granton exclaimed in disbelief. In the time he was busy being dumbstruck by Cana's strategy, the plant had done its job quickly, creating many cracks that weakened the rock and made it easy for Cana to break through it with a single punch.

"They're small, but surprisingly strong. Especially in order to break the rock, don't you agree?" Cana smirked despite her breathing being heavy.

"I agree that you're out of breath right now," the Earth-element mage said bluntly.

Cana ignored it. Instead, she charged forward despite her lungs protesting the action. She had been chosen as a candidate for becoming an S-class mage for a reason. Her stamina and speed even when she was almost out of energy proved it. Pulling out another bunch of cards in a flash, Cana threw them all towards Granton at once, who reacted quickly by summoning a wall of rock in front of him to block the explosive cards. But the sound of the explosions were deafening and the tremors were too powerful for even Granton to sense, rendering him to a state really almost like total blindness, even for a moment; being unable to hear or feel the earth's tremors properly made him panic slightly.

"Where are you?" Granton said slowly, listening to the quietness after the explosions stopped and the ground stopped shaking. He couldn't feel Cana's presence anywhere, sending anxiety down his spine.

"I'm here."

The call startled Granton sharply because it came from behind. Without thinking, he turned around to attack and fell right into Cana's trap. The ground beneath him had become slippery with ice under his notice. He lost his balance just as Cana aimed her fist and a ring of blinding light he couldn't see surrounded him completely.

***Fairy**Tail***

"And I thought he was smart enough to not fall for the same trick a second time," Cana sighed. She lay on the ground, sweaty and panting, while the unconscious Granton was a few meters away. He looked pretty messed up after being hit directly with one of Fairy Tail's three strongest spells. Cana still almost couldn't believe it though, that the simple—and dare she say, 'childish'—tactic she had used had worked against Granton who could sense movements so well.

She had used the explosions as a distraction, unsure if they would be sufficient, but it had just been a spontaneous thought that passed through her mind. When the explosion occurred and Granton panicked, Cana had used her wind element card to help her land on Granton's back and the slippery iced floor card again to trap him as well, noticing that Granton had needed his hands to use magic. So long as Cana could keep Granton's hands occupied, then she could prevent him from manipulating the rocks, even for a second, and it had been enough for Cana to cast Fairy Glitter directly at her target.

Breathing out contently, Cana was satisfied with this battle, though completely drained of magical energy and her whole body full of cuts and bruises. She couldn't even move anymore, let alone fight now.

"Sorry Natsu, Lucy. I'll leave the rest to you," she mumbled, staring up at the starry skies.

***Fairy**Tail***

That was it. What do you think. I know you must be disappointed since Gray didn't appear a lot and the chapter you were waiting for the freaking 6 months only focused on Lucy's and Cana's fight. I'm so sorry… But the fights are important. Sorry…. X(

I only wish you all could enjoy it… :)


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